


Breeze

by ConnieHooper



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Age of Ultron Completed, Another Stark's Daughter Fic but With a Difference, Avengers (2012) Complete, BAMF Baby Mama, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Tony Stark, Character Development, F/M, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Iron Man 2 Complete, Iron Man 3 Complete, Iron Man Complete, Irondad, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Kidnapping, Mild Language, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Pepper as a Godmother, Primrose is Bisexual, Protective Avengers, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Rhodey as a Godfather, Slow Burn, Tony Stark Has A Heart, WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP, Will add tags as the story continues, asthmatic character, non-explicit gore, soft tony stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2019-11-12 15:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 208,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18013484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConnieHooper/pseuds/ConnieHooper
Summary: Obadiah was right, Starks are geniuses. Primrose wasn't like her dad, so if she was going to be a genius, she was going to choose at what.[Cross-posted on FF.NET under the same username][I welcome thy, AO3 readers]





	1. October 17th, 2001

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of abortion in this chapter.

_Tony Stark was starting to get used to his hangovers and selective memories. It was January first, the new morning of a new year and as per usual, Stark threw a New Year's Eve small get together that turned into the fully crowded, drunken, mess his "small get-togethers" usually ended up like._

_Between all the booze, women, shots and pretending these people liked him for not just his money and looks, Tony Stark's selective memory recalled a certain pair of innocent, brown eyes._

_But she was not lying next to him when he woke up like he thought she'd be._

_He didn't even ask her name. Or maybe he did and he didn't remember._

_Tony Stark was thirty-two years old. How old had she been? More than twenty at least, he hoped as he prepared himself for a new day._

_Six weeks passed, and everyone took a sigh of relief when January finally ended. Everyone was already past the New Year excitement and Tony was getting annoyed from the 'have a good year, sir' he'd get everywhere._

_Obadiah Stane was Tony's mentor and his father's old friend. He trusted the man with business and he made Tony's life much simpler. And when Tony had hired Pepper Potts a few years back, it seemed that life wasn't as bad as he thought it was after his parents passed away._

_So, six weeks had passed since that night with the brown eyes. And Tony would sometimes think about them, for some reason he couldn't take a bite from. Maybe because she had been his first hookup in two-thousand-and-two? That could be considered special._

_Tony decided to avoid thinking about her, it made him feel strange._

_Meanwhile, the woman whose brown eyes belonged to was in a state of misery. Not only she just found out that her roommate/best friend was dropping out and returning to her hometown but she also received shocking news that turned her world upside down: she was pregnant._

_Emma Evans cursed at herself as she stared in the mirror of her own bathroom. Her long, blonde hair was messy and her mascara was all smudged around her eyes, not making them look so innocent anymore._

_"You stupid whore!" she yelled at the mirror. If only Joan, the roommate that left, hadn't dragged her to that stupid Tony Stark end of the year party. The only reason they got in there was that Joan had been dating one of the waiters working there - which by the way, that relationship didn't even last two weeks afterward._

_Emma's sudden anger for Joan dissipated as soon she let herself be rational, it wasn't her fault. She was the one that allowed Tony Stark to seduce her, she was the one that decided to start the year with a bang and finally lose her virginity - and to a famous billionaire nonetheless!_

_Now Emma regretted everything. She was twenty-two-years-old, almost finishing up her bachelor's degree in psychology and a baby was going to ruin her life._

_She immediately pondered abortion, she had the right to do it. It's her life._

_But then she lost the bravery to think about it. Emma could only watch the days pass by, her mind distracted on the life being created inside of her, and who the father of that life was. Could anyone believe Emma if she told them? Would Stark?_

_It was now April, she was now three months in. Emma decided to keep her child, but her relationship with her parents was almost severed when she announced her situation. She still kept secret who the father of the baby was, and in return, her mother called her a whore before hanging up._

_They didn't talk for three weeks before her mother called her and apologized, both women cried on the phone for hours. Even her father was now calmer, accepting but still disappointed._

_Emma changed her demeanor after that, she now wasn't concerned about her baby ruining her life. She wanted to be a clinical psychologist and move to New York City to work there. Her parents were from San Francisco and were a little concerned about having her living so far away and on a busy city but Emma was able to persuade them._

_The only reason why she was in Malibu in the first place was that Joan had family there and they happily welcomed them in for the holidays._

_Emma missed Joan, she hasn't told her about the pregnancy but they still talked through messages and e-mails. But it seemed that as the days passed, the less communication they held between each other, and Emma was expecting the day when they would just cease to speak to each other._

_That day happened a month later when Emma was entering the fourth month and when she found out she was having a girl. Joan and Emma haven't spoken in three weeks by then, so the blonde just gave up on the friendship and continued with her life. A new start._

_And that's when Emma began to think about telling Tony Stark because not only he deserved to know but she was also entitled to have his help, she wasn't wealthy like he was. Worst case scenario would be him not believing her, even if he did and did not want anything to do with the child, Emma knew his wealth would allow her daughter to have a good life._

_We enter June, the fifth month, and Emma graduated with good grades and an expectant future. She would return to begin her master's degree because she was not giving up, but summer break allowed Emma to finally do what she wanted to do: tell Tony Stark he was going to be a father in three to four months._

_The day when she got prepared, Tony woke up with a bad feeling. Which was strange because he luckily woke up with the model he had slept with the night before gone, he actually had a good breakfast and surprisingly did some work at Stark Industries. Pepper seemed to be a good mood because of that, and he liked when she was happy._

_But he still had a bad feeling in his guts._

_And when Pepper walked inside his office, giving him a warning look, with a woman trailing behind her, his heart fell._

_The brown eyes, he recognized them right away._

_Telling Tony Stark that she was pregnant and it was his had been easy for Emma, the hardest part was what came next. He laughed, in her face, but then explained that almost every week a woman calls implying that she's expecting his baby and that after a quick warning of a paternity test they never contact him again._

_Tony became anxious when Emma didn't seem even bothered. She was confident that he was the father, she recalled him of the night at his end of the year party, they slept together. And he cringed when Emma told him it had been her first time as well, that also made Pepper almost murder him on the spot._

_Pepper fell bad for the girl, she couldn't help to glance at the bump she carried with her, and if Emma was right then she was going to murder Tony for real._

_Emma then said she didn't come here for money, but Tony's patience ran short when he asked why did she wait all this time to tell him, why not come here right away?_

_The blonde was speechless at the, and genuinely told him she had been scared. She almost lost her parents, she had lost her friend and she wanted to finish college. Bills were piling up and she felt guilty for letting her parents pay them, Emma bravely demanded Tony to pay for child support if he didn't want to be a part of their daughter's life._

_Tony was so shocked at the gender's reveal that all he could think about was that._

_Pepper saw how much agitated the girl was starting to become, she sat her down in front of Tony's desk and grabbed a glass of water, soothingly telling her to calm down. Pepper then told Tony to immediately get a grip, and that she warned him that this was his responsibility as well, she said that if Emma was indeed pregnant with his child that she expected Tony to act on with it, he made his bed and now he had to lie in it!_

_Tony laughed, he started to have a fit. He startled the two woman, he didn't find anything funny but he laughed. This was absolutely the last thing he wanted, to be a father. Somehow he had believed Emma, looking at her eyes it was obvious that the girl wasn't lying. What made Tony laugh was how quick Pepper was to protect her, how fast the two had each other's back. Christ, they just met._

_He thought about how fascinating women were, and now he was going to be the father of a girl. That soon would become a woman. That soon would understand how much of a terrible father he was going to be. That would slam doors in his face, not want to see him, date sleazy guys just to get his attention._

_He stopped laughing._

_Not on his watch._

_Tony apologized for laughing and immediately told Emma that he wanted to be part of their daughter's life, but for her not to take it personally when he said that he didn't want a steady relationship with anyone._

_Emma cut him quickly, stating that she had no intentions of marrying him, he wasn't really her type._

_Tony told Pepper to cancel the meetings for the rest of the day, and then he took Emma to his mansion for them to converse more calmly and freely._

_And then Happy Hogan met Emma and when he saw his boss leaving the building with a pregnant woman the personal driver almost had a heart attack right there. He wasn't told anything, but Tony respected Happy's intelligence enough for the man to realize what was finally happening, and when Happy means finally he meant that he had a feeling this would occur after countless nights driving his boss's "dates" in and out of the mansion._

_Tony Stark wasn't perfect. With so many women, he was bound to make a mistake._

_Safe to say that Happy drove carefully and Emma took a liking to him._

_Half a day passed, and Tony suggested a paternity test after the birth. Emma accepted without hesitating, it was clear that at this point Tony was impressed by how calm she was. They ended up talking for the rest of the day, and Tony actually got to meet the mother of his possible child._

_She was almost twenty-three-years-old, and she was born in San Francisco. She was studying to become a clinical psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley, which was only fifty minutes by car and thirty-five minutes by train away from her house._

_Tony realized that this woman liked to be near home._

_Which it shocked him when Emma told him she wanted to move to New York City and get a job there when she graduated. So she was ambitious, he respected that._

_From San Francisco, it was a six-hour ride to Malibu, but Emma told him she'd been fine with driving so long here, he deserved to know. Tony, however, refused to believe in that when she saw how tired she looked. He offered one of his guest rooms for her to stay the night, it was getting dark out there and he was worried about a pregnant woman driving back home for six hours by herself._

_After dinner, and before going to sleep, Emma gave Tony something that he didn't know what it was. She amusedly explained that it was the baby's ultrasounds. From the first one to the most recent, and Tony could clearly see the growth and the confirmation that the baby was indeed a girl._

_He waited until she left him alone for him to finally started wheezing, JARVIS, who had been quiet all this time, offered some comfort with a congratulations notice, and Tony accepted all of it._

_As he watched the starry sky from his bedroom, Tony closed his eyes and listened to the waves from the ocean down below. His bad feeling vanished, but it was now replaced with anxiety._

_Was he going to be able to be a good father?_

_Two months passed by, and Tony was now starting his plans for a nursery in his mansion. It wasn't confirmed yet if the kid was his but he found himself trusting Emma, also, Pepper seemed to have a feeling she was being honest as well. She helped her boss picking clothes, colors, toys - she also warned Tony not to buy too many toys, which he visibly ignored when he bought a giant 'welcome' teddy bear that would never fit in a hospital room._

_Speaking of which, Tony already planned everything for the birth. But first he had asked Emma, the woman had temporarily moved in. After her approval, he managed to already book a private hospital room and arranged a doctor that would keep the birth confidential, or else._

_Pepper and Tony had a conversation about what would happen if the child was his, how long would Tony wait until telling the world? Would Emma want that? The kid was going to be the most famous person without reaching the age of one as soon as she was born, so they needed to talk this through._

_And Tony didn't want to stress Emma, she was so big and far into the pregnancy that he was scared she'd break. One time Emma missed the last step from the staircase and almost fell down, she didn't but Tony did when he tried to grab her._

_Emma laughed for thirty minutes._

_Not only their relationship improved during those two months, but it would have seemed that the two became rather close, they were friends._

_Happy was excited of course, and when Tony told Rhodey the news, the man literally whooped with joy. Pepper would just tell Tony how lucky he was, he could have impregnated a girl that could've caused drama and too much attention._

_Being seven months pregnant was tough, especially during August. California was hot and sunny all year and Emma took comfort inside the mansion, with the air conditioner._

_On a warm night, Emma's parents were there. And Tony decided he liked them. Her father was a serious man that loved his daughter and wife more than anything, and Emma's mom was a very preoccupied woman that tended to be over-protective. They had a strong bond, Tony recalled his relationship with his own parents - it didn't sit well._

_We were now in September, and everyone was on high alert. Emma decided to continue her studies online, starting her master's degree in psychology in her now high-tech laptop that Stark upgraded. Her belly was huge now, she liked placing cups on top and watching her daughter move it._

_Emma and Tony came to terms with a name during a summer thunderstorm where they were both watching Pretty Woman._

_Primrose Maria Evans-Stark._

_Tony couldn't thank enough Emma for allowing his late mother's name in there, and her answer was to shush him because her favorite part was coming._

_Emma turned twenty-three, there was a small party with her parents, Pepper, Happy and Rhodey. Obadiah Stane was not invited, Emma met him once and told Tony he looked at her like a creep, he laughed it off but didn't invite him anyways, out of respect for her._

_October rolled in and on the sixteenth day, at nine in the evening, Emma's water broke._

_Tony reacted by simply grabbing the bag that Emma and Pepper prepared and wait inside the car like he was told to do, Happy was there, talking to him and trying to calm down the panic look on Tony's expression. Finally, when Pepper and Emma got inside the car, Happy's driving went between careful to fast as Emma's screaming was making everyone anxious._

_It took them half-an-hour to get there, and as soon as Tony yelled for help the nurses took Emma to the private room. The doctor that was going to give birth to his daughter rushed at him to get dressed, or was he going to wait outside?_

_Snarky._

_Happy and Pepper didn't see either Tony or Emma for the following five hours. And when Tony returned to grab a cup of coffee, Pepper and Happy jolted up from their sleepy state on the uncomfortable chairs and bombarded them with questions. It was almost three in the morning and no signs of baby yet, Emma was waiting to start pushing and he told them she was getting impatient._

_He returned to Emma, and three hours later he showed up again, tears still fresh on his cheeks and eyes as he told them Primrose was here, and that she was healthy and so small. The paternity test was being made as they spoke but none of them seemed to care._

_And when the test returned positive, that Tony Stark was officially a father, he already knew that as he held his daughter while Emma rested. Primrose was his, he was her daddy. And even though that a small voice in the back of his mind was telling him that he was going to be a terrible father, Tony chose to ignore it for now as he enjoyed the sight of his baby girl sleeping peacefully in his arms._

_Primrose Maria Evans-Stark, born on October seventeenth at six-thirty five in the morning, was the best thing that ever happened to Tony Stark ever since his parents died._


	2. Irenic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's an easter egg in this chapter, I wanna see who gets it first!
> 
> The cast for my characters:
> 
> Primrose Evans-Stark: Maia Mitchell  
> Emma Evans: Julie Bowen.  
> Joan Danner: Emily Blunt.  
> Jack Danner: Ben Affleck.
> 
> Irenic: aiming or aimed at peace.

**Primrose's Age: Four months old.**  
**Date: February 20th, 2002**

Emma was back at San Francisco continuing her online classes, starting her internship at a clinic and working a weekend part-time job as a waiter at a small cafe, so Emma was definitely tired. She was starting to save money for her New York dream, and now with Primrose, she wanted to make sure she'd find a good home for both of them.

She outright refused any more contributions from Tony Stark, he already did so much for her like the week after Primrose's birth, when they finally had the talk about what would happen next, Tony used his money to hire an attorney and a jury that swore secrecy and only Rhodey, Happy and Pepper were present with them. Both decided on joint custody and their parental schedule would be alternating weeks between each other.

Primrose would live at Emma's house one week, then switch over to Tony's the next week. They choose to make the transition on Fridays for each be able to enjoy their time with Primrose during weekends. They only hoped not to affect their daughter in the future, the other schedules were far worse and this one was the least stressful for them.

The only ones not happy with this situation were Arthur and Abigal, Emma's parents. They made a lot of questions, tried to change their minds. They expected Tony and Emma to at least get married since they thought they were getting along fine. Arthur was very traditional, and even though he disliked the idea of his daughter marrying a man ten years older than her, he still thought it would be best, and Abigal was very religious - which made Tony nervous.

It was true, Tony and Emma's relationship had improved a lot. But not in a romantic way, they were close but not like that. And they were fine with that because at least Primrose would grow up with her parents having a healthy relationship.

Emma sighed, she couldn't help thinking about love though. Would it get harder for her to go on dates? Or actually, get married? Now that she had a daughter she could possibly startle a few men in the future, Emma didn't want to think about it because, at this point of her life, all she cared about was Primrose.

The blonde woman came home from her part-time job at six in the afternoon, she saw the red light blinking from her answering machine.

Emma pushed the blinking button while she took her shoes off, and the message started playing. It was from Tony.

_"Hey Em, just checking in and telling you that Prim is fine. She had a tummy ache and cried for almost an hour but she's sleeping right now, oh and I didn't forget to burp her this time after feeding her! Thanks again for leaving the breastmilk in the fridge, I almost forgot to put it in there. Anyways, I'll call you later and keep you posted. Also, check your phone I sent you cute pics of Prim. Love you!"_

Emma smiled when the message ended, Tony seemed to be doing better than last time. During the first week that Primrose stayed with her dad, he'd call her every ten minutes almost in a panicking state, asking her a lot of questions and thinking he's doing everything wrong. There were times when he couldn't take Primrose because he was too busy but he was now making more of an effort, Emma and him a deep discussion about that and Tony basically promised he'd try better, even if he had to take Primrose to work with him.

But that was quickly dismissed - because the world still had no idea of the existence of Primrose Evans-Stark.

And that was good, Emma was relieved. She wanted Primrose to enjoy a normal life as long as she could. But the blonde wasn't naive, she knew that it wouldn't last forever. One day everyone was going to find out about Tony Stark's daughter and she wasn't ready for it, not yet.

There was a sudden knock on her door, interrupting Emma's train of thoughts and the coffee she was about to make.

She walked over there and peeked through the peephole, and her mouth formed a small 'o'. Opening the door, the first thing that happened was her catching Joan when the brunette jumped at her for a hug.

"Emma! Oh my God, I missed you so much!" Joan cried as she wrapped her arms around the confused blonde.

They haven't spoken in ten months.

"Joan?" Emma managed to smile at the quirky woman backed away from her, the surprise guest invited herself inside the apartment and took her jacket off, throwing in on the small sofa on the corner of the room, Emma was still awed as she closed the door behind her, she followed her estranged friend and gave her a pointed look, "Joan how have you been?"

The woman in question grinned and took a long, happy exhaled as she looked around, "I've been fine! So much better! You changed the furniture, this place looks amazing," she laughed as if she had told a good joke.

Emma felt uncomfortable, "Thanks. So not to sound like I don't want you here but, what are you doing here? We haven't spoken in almost a year." she slowly stated, hoping not to sound rude.

Joan's happy expression became crestfallen, "Oh yeah, I know. And I'm so sorry about that. I was really depressed about having to quit college and I had to move back with my parents, it was really embarrassing." Joan made her way to the kitchen since the apartment was small the kitchen was connected with the living room through a kitchenette, and Emma watched her grab a cup and fill it with tap water.

"I'm really sorry about that, but you never told me why you quit. I felt really hurt but is everything okay with you now?" Emma asked, sitting down on the sofa, she was really tired.

Joan nodded as she sipped her water, "Yup!" she gasped out after drinking it all in one go. "I'm so happy! Do you want to know why I'm here? I'm getting married!" she announced happily, practically skipping to sit next to the blonde.

Now Emma was, and wasn't, shocked at that. She wasn't because, during their time together, Joan would always rant about wanting to get married as soon as possible and have children, her friend was a romantic. Emma actually found that very sweet about Joan.

"That's great news, Joan. I'm happy for you." Emma genuinely said, giving her a smile. Even though they haven't spoken in months she only wished happiness to her once best friend.

"His name is Jack Danner. He was on a business trip to San Francisco and he saved me from being hit by a bicycle, he was a little serious for my taste but then, oh Emma, then we started talking and he invited me for dinner and after dating for six months he asked me to marry him!" she explained with a dreamy look on her eyes.

Emma stared at her, that all seemed cliché.

"He lives in Chicago and Emma I'm moving there."

The blonde's eyes widened, "That's on the other side of the country!" Emma wanted to ask her how did her parents feel about that, but she wasn't able when Joan quickly continued.

"I want you to be my maid of honor," Joan said, smiling brightly and ignoring the shocked expression.

"W-What? Joan, why me? I thought we weren't even friends anymore!"

Joan looked hurt, "Emma, we promised to be friends forever."

"We stopped talking! I can't leave town there's" Emma quieted down, she hasn't told Joan about Primrose yet.

"What? What is going on?" Joan pressed, looking temperamental.

"I have a daughter now. I was pregnant when you left." Emma finally admitted, looking at her own lap to avoid Joan's eyes, "I would've told you, but you left. Then we stopped talking and I felt like it wouldn't matter anymore."

Joan stood from the couch and Emma, startled, looked at her for a reaction. She saw the brunette looking at her with a shocked expression, her hands dramatically covering her mouth.

"Y-You–WHAT?" Joan squealed, and instead of anger Emma saw happiness, "EMMA! OH MY GOD! This is so exciting! This is, wow! You bitch! I can't believe you didn't tell me you got pregnant! What's her name? Oh shit! Who's the father?! It's that mystery guy from Stark's party isn't? Right?!"

Emma stared dumbfounded as Joan kept throwing her questions, not even once she found the space to reply to them. She could only lean back on the couch and let the excited woman vent out about the bomb that was just dropped on her. Emma only hoped Tony was doing better than she was.

* * *

**Stark Mansion, Malibu  
7:14 pm**

Tony couldn't stop checking on Primrose every ten minutes.

His thoughts making him anxious. What if she turned around and suffocated? What if she was silently crying? What if a pillow falls on her face and she stops breathing?

He inhaled and exhaled as he stood before the crib where his daughter peacefully slept.

"She's fine, it's fine" he whispered to himself. "JARVIS is her heart good? How is her pulse?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake her up.

 _"Sir I am happy to inform that as twenty minutes passed, Ms. Stark finds still herself perfectly healthy and with normal blood pressure,"_ JARVIS replied, his voice amused.

Tony welcomed the sass, it made him calm down, "Okay so, if I were to go to my garage and work on some stuff, you'd warn me right away if she wakes up, right?"

 _"I would warn you seconds before, sir,"_  JARVIS replied.

The now thirty-two-year-old man couldn't help but stay still, even when JARVIS assured him that Primrose was fine, his feet didn't move. So Tony gave up, he sighed with defeat and decided to sit on the rocking chair next to the crib, staring at the bundle unaware of her over-protective father watching her in her sleep.

Tony started thinking more about his father ever since Primrose was born. He recalled Howard Stark was a strict father that was more interested in his job and Captain America than actually paying attention to his own son. Did Tony hate his father? No, but he did wish he could've told Howard that he loved him before his parents left the house before they died on that car crash.

He closed his eyes and suppressed those memories, the present was what it mattered. Primrose is what matters now, and Tony decided a long time ago that he wasn't going to be like Howard, or at least he'd try. He didn't want his own daughter growing up resenting him for not being there, he didn't want to be an estranged father, a father that a child isn't proud to talk about with their friends.

No, he wanted to be a good father.

Tony loved Primrose so much, he stopped bringing women home. He tried to stop drinking as much as he did, Tony was trying to quit but he realized that if he drank less he'd be fine.

Rhodey and Happy were made godfathers and Pepper, even though Tony hired her not so long time ago, he trusted her enough to make her godmother. Speaking of Rhodey, now that Primrose was settled in he'd been visiting more, and Tony jokingly suspected he wasn't here to see him, but a certain bundle of joy that has become more talkative with her babbling each day.

Four months, it's been four months already.

How would Tony act like when his baby girl turns a year old?

* * *

**Primrose's Age: Eight months old.  
Date: June 21st, 2003**

Joan and Emma were friends again. But now, with Joan living in Chicago the two would have to really commit to contacting each other to keep their friendship alive. The wedding was two months ago, and Joan was right Jack was a serious man but Emma could see him loving Joan. They were the opposite but they were perfect.

Joan met Primrose but she still didn't know who the father of the child was, Tony argued with Emma about not wanting her quirky friend to know, and Emma simply agreed not wanting to cause a problem.

Joan absolutely loved Primrose and surprisingly she didn't fuss too much when Emma refused to tell her who the father was, the blonde appreciated her friend respect for her privacy.

They were able to properly say goodbye to each other this time, and both promised to see each other one day.

Emma's finals went really well and she was positive about her education, but now she was on summer break and it was time to be with her daughter. Tony was more than happy to ignore the parental schedule for this summer and he invited Emma to stay at his mansion until she returns to school.

Tony was very proud of Emma when her results came back, she was really passionate about becoming a clinical psychologist because her grades were high.

In three more years she would be done with her master's degree, and even when it looked so far away Tony knew she'd get there. He would fund her own clinic if he had to, she could pay him back later.

They were both enjoying their time with Primrose, there were toys all scattered on the spacious room converted into a baby-proofed area for Primrose to stay at, the floor-to-ceiling windows allowed the room to be lit in natural light and Emma, who sat on the carpeted floor, played with her daughter who was now capable of crawling and grabbing objects and food.

Tony was proud to say that his daughter was already able to self-feed herself, he asked JARVIS to record his baby girl eat pieces of sliced apple by herself to later show Emma, Happy, Rhodes and Pepper. What no one knew was that Tony was salvaging every short or long videos about Primrose and storing them in a file on his own private network.

"Mama!" Tony gasped and immediately called for JARVIS. By now the AI was accustomed to starting immediately a recording every time his young mistress did something new, even when Tony didn't order it, JARVIS was always ready.

"She said, mama!" Tony wheezed, looking at Emma.

The blonde looked at the doorway of the room, shocked to see him there, "Jesus, Tony, where did you come from? I didn't hear you." she scolded him, placing Primrose on her lap as the baby clung onto her favorite toy, it was a blue bunny plushie.

"She. Said. Mama!" he exclaimed, louder, making Primrose notice her dad and squeal with delight. She let go of her bunny and her pudgy, cute arms started to reach for him.

Emma smiled when Tony quickly approached them to sit down on the floor as well, as he reached for Primrose, Emma was already passing her to him in a gentle way, he carefully settled her down on his lap and Primrose automatically took hold of his finger with her small, smooth hand.

"She started saying, mama, when she woke up, JARVIS recorded everything, don't worry," Emma explained, looking fondly at the way Tony kissed Primrose's head, his eyes were closed and he looked lost in his thoughts.

"So she's talking." he mumbled, "Too soon."

The blonde chuckled, "Tony she's not talking, she's babbling. It's normal, I read it in a book that babies may already be saying 'mama' and 'dada', or they may be just baby-babbling at this age. Either way, we can't be anxious about it or Prim will feel our anxiety," she said as she gently ruffled Tony's messy hair.

He leaned into her touch, he was so glad that she was around.

Tony and Emma could be seen more like a brother and sister by now, pity that if they admit it, people would find it odd since they have a baby. So they just go with it and accept this friendship, what it mattered is that they were comfortable around each other. They had nothing to hide, the two passed that.

"How was work?" Emma asked conversationally as Primrose started reaching for her blue bunny again.

Tony hummed shortly, "Boring. I miss you two all day."

"How's Pepper?"

"She's fine, she's happy that I'm actually doing some work."

"Happy?"

"He's fine too, keeps asking about Prim."

Emma smirked, "How about Rhodes?"

"I talked with him over lunch, he didn't even ask how I was, he only asked about Prim as well." he pouted a little, watching his daughter grab her plushie in mild awe. They grow up so fast.

Tony then heard Emma laugh, so he continued talking, "I feel like no one cares about me anymore. I'm kinda jealous of Prim." he stated, trying to keep a serious, but hurt expression.

Emma shrugged, feigning indifference, "It's your fault for having a cute kid."

Tony wheezed this time, but he quickly recovered as he struck a pose while he pretended to comb his hair backward, "It's the Stark genes, anyone would be blessed if they had it."

Emma snorted, "Maybe they already have, who knows how many other kids you might have."

Primrose babbled loudly, making both adults stop their bantering and watch her. She seemed pleased at the attention, so she continued playing with the bunny.

There was a long pause of just watching when Emma finally spoke.

"It seems that, like a true Stark, Primrose likes to be the center of attention."

Tony, uncharacteristically, agreed.


	3. The World Turned Upside Down

**Primrose's age: One year and four months old.  
Date: February 11th, 2003**

Emma Evans, twenty-three-years-old, was officially angry at Tony Stark.

Not only he didn't spend New Year's with his daughter like he promised he would, but when she called him it was Pepper who answered instead, apologizing to Emma by telling that Tony had been recovering from his hangover.

Emma refused to speak with her daughter's father. She only saw him at the airport, where he'd pick up Primrose on his private jet on Fridays for the weekly switch. Tony did try to apologize to Emma, but it has been a month and the two haven't made up yet.

Primrose was suffering the most, the little one was now taking her first steps and instead of celebrating it properly, the only thing Emma did was record everything and send it to Pepper. If the P.A hadn't shown Tony he would've never known.

It was another Friday, and Emma was standing in a secluded area at the San Francisco International Airport, her arms were crossed as she glared at the Stark private jet that had just landed. On one hand, she was relieved that the trip went well and that she gets to see her daughter, but on the other, it meant she had to see Tony as well.

And when the man that has been on her mind in a negative way finally came out of the jet, carrying Primrose, she couldn't help but chuckle gently when her daughter waved at her with a happy face.

"Sorry about the ten-minute delay, there was small turbulence up there but nothing JARVIS couldn't handle." was the first thing Tony said when he approached her, his voice was a bit strained. Emma could already imagine that the 'small turbulence' had been in fact, not small and the way he was clinging to Primrose said it all.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked in a gentle voice. Primrose seemed fine, her chocolate eyes wandered everywhere with curiosity filled in them.

Tony nodded, then kissed Primrose on her head, making her giggle.

"Daddy, beard tickles!" she squealed, lashing her small hands onto Tony's beard covered chin.

"It's not a beard, it's a–you know what, nevermind." he quieted down as Primrose started squeezing his cheeks, making Emma chuckle.

The two stared at each other, awkwardly trying to expect someone to talk first. And then Tony gave up.

"Em, I'm really sorry. I know I screwed up, I don't like when you're mad at me I miss talking to you." he began, talking a little too fast, "Look, please let me make up to you. You can have this Christmas!"

Emma sighed, "Tony I already had Christmas last year, it wouldn't be fair to you. Besides we spend Prim's first Christmas together, remember?"

Tony and Emma decided that for important holidays, such as Christmas, they would rotate who would get Primrose for that week. But since last year had been Primrose's first Christmas they decided to make it special and spend the day together with Happy and Rhodey, of course. Pepper couldn't join because she had promised her own parents to be there this year but she did send lovely presents that Primrose adored.

"I know, but I feel terrible for what I did. It was like I went back to a life without any responsibilities. I let you and my daughter down, you two are my family." Tony said, his eyes watery as he held a babbling Primrose close to his chest. The toddler remained oblivious of the situation.

"Oh, Tony" Emma reached for him and gently placed her hand on his cheek, "You didn't let me down, you just disappointed me a little bit. Primrose didn't even notice because she was already asleep. And honestly, spending New Year's at home, drinking champagne while watching the countdown on television by myself wasn't actually that bad. I just wished you could've been there, but it's fine. It's okay, it happened and I want to move on. Let's just forget about it and be better, okay?" she stated, her voice calm but serious.

She wasn't mad at him anymore.

Tony visibly relaxed as he leaned into her touch, "Thank you, sweetheart."

She smiled at him, "Now please give me my daughter, I missed her so much!"

As the two laughed when Primrose basically jumped into her mom's arms, from not so far away a camera click was heard. And a woman, dressed in a black pantsuit and wearing dark shades smirked as she continued taking photos of the sweet moment between Tony Stark and the two other unknown people.

Her phone started ringing, and she immediately picked up.

"Jennifer Malcolm speaking, oh, yeah thanks for calling back. You won't believe what I got for you, but hey it's gonna cost you. But trust me, this is the story that the world has been waiting for."

She heard the voice on the other side and then hung up. Jennifer placed it on her pocket and continued taking photos, she saw through her zoomed lenses that Tony and the woman were now walking inside, chatting with each other as the baby played with the woman's hair.

Suddenly, as Jennifer gasped with delight, the baby looked her way and she took at least ten photos right there. These would be great for at least a whole page.

"Such a good girl, just like her daddy. Loves the camera, who would've thought? Tony Stark has a daughter."

Jennifer then left the area, returning to her car on the parking lot. It was time to go back to New York and become richer with the huge scoop she just got.

"I'll see then next Friday then, don't forget to call me if anything happens with Prim," Tony said as he kissed Emma's forehead, and then his daughter's as a goodbye kiss.

"Don't worry, you know I will. Tell her godparents I said hi!" Emma said as Tony started walking back to the jet, leaving the two inside the airport with a driver already waiting for them outside.

"Sure will!" he said as he waved at them, Primrose energetically waved back.

Emma stayed until she saw his jet taking flight into the air, on its way back to Malibu. She smiled as her chest didn't feel as heavy as it did before. Leaving the airport, Emma couldn't help wonder what kind of woman her daughter would become.

Would she also be as smart as her father? What if Emma couldn't keep up? What if her daughter loses interest in her? Thoughts like those would make her anxious. Primrose, however, was busy playing with her blue bunny toy, her favorite one, and as Emma watched her interestedly, she rolled her eyes at her own anxious self. She and Tony would raise her right, there was no way she'd let her daughter become that.

Primrose was a sweet girl.

And there were other matters Emma could worry about more. But alas, nothing was more important than Primrose.

When they got home, Emma gave Primrose a warm bath before feeding her. And afterward, Emma let Primrose play with her toys until it was bedtime. While sitting in front of the television, but paying more attention at building a tower with her blocks, Primrose was starting to feel drowsy but fought it because she was enjoying playing. Emma, who had just washed the dishes, watched her daughter amusedly, it was times like this that she looked exactly like Tony.

It was already evening, Emma was about to take Primrose to her crib when the Daily News Channel turned on her television just for background noise stated something that made her blood run cold.

_"Tony Stark, visionary, thirty-three-years-old and the world's most wanted bachelor has decided to finally settle down and began a family but in secret? An anonymous person has captured these sweet interactions between Tony Stark and a woman, and as you can see, Mr. Stark is holding a baby that clearly resembles him. Who is this mysterious woman? And could Stark Industries finally have a new successor? Don't change your channel because we'll be back with this breaking news after this commercial."_

Emma was so paralyzed that she almost didn't hear her phone ring. Primrose started to get a little uneasy as she let out a small whine at her mother's behavior.

"Yes?" the blonde answered as fast as she could, her breathing was heavy.

 _"Get your things, I'll be there in an hour at the airport."_  Tony's voice sounded furious, Emma almost didn't recognize him.

"Tony–"

 _"EM, LISTEN TO-"_  she heard him take a deep breath before he continued,  _"I know. I saw it too. I know sweetheart, I'll fix this. Just,_ _ **please**_ _, do as I say for now. I'm already on my way to the airport, just be there and pack enough for a week. Please, please Em"_  the desperation on his voice startled Emma, she didn't like it at all.

"O-Okay, we'll be there. Just ring me when you're about to arrive."

 _"Dress up lowkey, someone might recognize you or Prim."_  he quickly added, and Emma shivered at the thought of someone pointing at them like they were animals on a zoo.

"I will," her hands were shaking, "T-Tony how did this happen? We were so careful" she started sobbing. Emma didn't want it to happen now, she wanted Primrose to have a normal childhood, away from the cameras and the world, and now that was ruined.

Tony sighed,  _"I'm so sorry sweetheart, I'll fix this okay?"_

She nodded, even though he couldn't see her, "All right, see you."

He hung up, and she started sobbing even harder, scaring Primrose a little. At the alarming sounds, her daughter was starting to form, Emma quickly cleaned her tears away and grabbed her daughter from the floor with a smile.

"Guess our quiet life is over, honey." she kissed her chubby cheek and carried her to their room, where Emma proceeded to pack everything at least for a week.

Then she got another call, it was Joan. Emma groaned and decided to ignore it, not because she was avoiding Joan again but because she wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone other than Tony right now.

Primrose seemed calmer as she played with her bunny inside her crib, she would sometimes watch her mom run around the bedroom, shoving clothes inside a rolling suitcase in an angry manner. Primrose certainly heard new words that day, and they all sounded funny.

It was bedtime, but for some reason, Primrose found herself inside a car. She was watching the lights pass by her window as Emma talked with her parents, who also watched the news. Primrose looked at her mom as sleep started to get to get, her eyes felt heavy and she was starting to slowly let them close as her mom became a blurred figure, and before they could reach the airport Primrose was already sleeping heavily.

By the time she woke up, Primrose found herself in her crib on her father's house.

* * *

_**A month later** _

The world now knew about Emma Evans and Primrose Evans-Stark.

But instead of chaos, Tony was able to diffuse the situation by arranging a meeting with the press to clarify everything. So he ended up offering this information: Primrose was indeed his daughter, and the only reason he kept her a secret was that he and Emma wanted to wait until Primrose was of a certain age where she could understand everything better. He also remarked how furious he was at Daily News and that if they didn't give him the name of the anonymous person that photographed them at the airport, he'd sue them.

Jennifer Malcolm was exposed, but she didn't seem either intimated or affected by it.

Emma appeared at the meeting, and she answered the questions thrown at her as best as she could. She wasn't used to the flashing of the camera and Tony did his best to calm everyone down. The reporters just wanted to see Primrose, they wanted to know more about her. Her age, her birthday, her first words and Emma just allowed them to know her age, and that her first word had been 'dada'.

Some reporters actually awed at that, which made Emma look good in their eyes. Emma didn't mind the reporters that were polite and respectful, but there were some disgusting ones that just wanted to invade their privacy.

Like paparazzi.

Emma and Primrose were going back home today, Tony and she were waiting for her turn on the parental schedule.

Before leaving, while her parents were downstairs talking, Primrose enjoyed her time on her playroom, with uncle Rhodey. The military had his goddaughter sitting on his lap as he watched her build a tower of blocks on her own. He had been slightly more protective of her this past month, the press had also approached him since everyone knows he's close to Tony, but he didn't tell them anything. That didn't mean they would leave him alone.

When Emma and Prim returned to San Francisco with the bodyguard, Rhodey found Tony sitting in the dark and drinking scotch as he stared at the ocean with a thoughtful expression.

"Don't tell me you're about to tell me your plan to take over the world," Rhodey approached him, starting this conversation with a joke.

Tony snorted, "No. More like, how to ruin Jennifer Malcolm's life."

Rhodey chuckled, "You need to forget about that snake, she got what she wanted and now you can't give her the pleasure of even thinking about her."

Tony sighed and slumped more on his chair, he took a sip from his scotch and cringed, "I hate her, though."

Rhodes nodded, "Yeah man, me too."


	4. It's a Pirate's Life for Prim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I changed a few things because I'm an idiot, Prim no longer was born in 2002 but in 2001, I made a mistake because Peter was actually born in August 2001. I don't know where 2002 came from. That's the only thing that changed, everything is the same!

**Primrose's age: Three years and seven months old.  
Date: May 4th, 2005**

Emma Evans, now twenty-six-years-old, rolled her brown eyes at yet another news report about her daughter that suddenly came on TV as she was eating a pizza she'd just ordered. It was weird to think how much she had stressed about the whole situation a year ago, but now seeing and hearing it was like listening to a broken record.

Primrose was at her dad's right now and tomorrow Emma would be picking her up at the airport later in the evening.

Her daughter was growing up fast. She could speak more, even answer to questions and she would even tell Emma how her week with her daddy had been. Also, her favorite movie was 'Treasure Planet', a Disney movie that came out three years ago and that had charmed Primrose with the whole space pirates and sword fighting within it. Emma and Tony both owned a VHS copy of it on their houses because Primrose simply demanded it. Emma's personal favorite was 'Oliver's Company' but the movie that her daughter loved and sometimes quoted had also interested her.

Even with her daughter expressing happiness all the time, she had been concerned about one problem. Because of her constant traveling, Emma wasn't able to sign Primrose on daycare because it would be stressful for the toddler to travel every day from Malibu to San Francisco just to attend school. So Tony and she decided to meet halfway on their argument and just wait until Primrose turns six-years-old. But they were both thinking about one thing.

Either Primrose would be homeschooled and have two private tutors or she'd go study abroad in a private school. And no one wanted the second option.

Emma would've already moved to New York City by the time Primrose turns six if everything turns out according to plan. She was now almost done with her master's degree and soon would begin packing everything to start her five-year-old internship in Queens, to get her Ph.D. in Psychology.

Instead of one hour, the flight would be five hours long. Primrose said it was fine, she loved flying. The toddler has been flying a lot since she was a newborn, and she got used to it, even at the turbulence. Of course, Tony and Emma were still concerned, but Emma refused to give up on her dream. She knew she was being selfish, but Tony couldn't judge her. He understood.

Still, Emma felt shitty. But she was so close, she wasn't quitting.

She turned off her television and decided to go to sleep to get ready for tomorrow, she couldn't wait to see her daughter again.

* * *

"Daddy! Pirate now!" Primrose was standing on her crib, her plastic sword given by her uncle Rhodey pointed at the ceiling as she gave her father a defiant look.

Tony rubbed his tired eyes, "Honey, it's time to sleep."

It was half-past eleven in the evening and Emma would kill him if she knew Tony failed to put their daughter to sleep before nine, but the little one was so energetic after Tony regretfully gave her a small bowl of chocolate ice cream.

"No sleep! We find tweasure!" she roared, looking to her wall as if it was a horizon of an ocean, or in her case, of space, "We find planet!"

Tony couldn't help to smile fondly at her, "Honey, if you stay up then you'll be tired tomorrow when you meet mom again, is that what you want?"

Primrose faltered and she immediately looked guilty, "No" she placed her arm down and sat in her crib, "I sleep now! I dream planet!" she grinned at her dad, and Tony found himself looking at his own smile.

He shivered, Pepper was right.

"Okay, baby girl, then give me the sword," Tony said as he tucked her in, he was going to reach for it when she yelled.

"No! I fight!" she complained as she clung onto the sword under the blankets.

"But you don't need to fight, daddy will fight for you." Tony chuckled, but he wasn't joking, even when he was using a light tone. He would fight her fights and now allow anyone to hurt her.

Primrose stared at him, and Tony almost looked away from her soulful eyes. It was like she could read him, that made him anxious.

"Daddy, scared?" she asked, and Tony has never seen her look so small.

"Yes, daddy will fight. Always," he leaned down and kissed her head.

"No daddy get hurt?" her small hands grabbed hold of his cheeks, keeping him close to her.

He rubbed his nose with hers, Primrose smelled so nice she still had that baby smell, and it relaxed him, "I'm not hurt, but I'll never let you get hurt either," and before the conversation could get deeper, Tony blew a raspberry on her chubby cheek, making her giggle loudly, "Time to sleep, baby girl."

Primrose let her dad take the toy sword and Tony placed it on the carpeted floor, next to her crib. He looked at her once more and watched her get comfortable, which made him smile until he had wrinkles on his forehead.

"Cozy?" he asked, patting her head gently.

She nodded and gave him a sleepy smile, "Yeah, night-night daddy,"

"Night-night, baby girl." he kissed her head and left the room after making sure her light-night was turned on, but before he closed the door he heard Primrose speaking quietly.

"G'night, uncle JARVIS." she whispered.

There was a small pause.

 _"Good night, Ms. Evans-Stark."_  the robotic voice of the A.I answered, his voiced sounding closely to a gentle one.

Tony smirked, his daughter was going to be the future.


	5. Her First Serious Sickness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new chapter! How about some emotional rollercoaster? Enjoy the ride!

**Primrose's Age: Four years and one month old.  
Date: November 18th, 2005**

**1:22 PM**

Thunder loudly roared from the skies of San Francisco, the heavy rain kept everyone inside their home and the news advised everyone to stay there as well, the wind was strong and it was clear that it was dangerous outside right now.

The sounds coming from outside might've scared some people but for Emma the noises that her daughter made while she violently vomited on the toiler were terrifying. And that included her sobbing and whimpering.

Primrose has been sick before, but never like this. Today Emma woke up with her daughter crying at the end of her bed, telling her that her tummy and head hurt. The first thing that Emma did was to check Primrose's temperature, which was almost high. She did give her a lukewarm bath just in case, and Primrose hated every second of it, the toddler was very lethargic and started crying at everything.

And then Emma realized that her daughter wasn't even drinking water. That immediately send a red alarm into her head and the decision to take her daughter to the hospital was made.

But while she was getting ready to leave, she heard Primrose gagging and then her heart dropped when she heard the retching inside her bedroom. Emma had been quick enough to carry her to the toilet but Primrose's vomit had left a small trail - it was something that Emma didn't care, she only hoped for her daughter to stop vomiting, it's been two minutes.

Primrose hadn't eaten much since this morning and the concern for her daughter's stomach grew.

When Primrose finally stopped throwing up, Emma rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth to take the bad taste away, Primrose kept on sobbing the whole time and it was heartbreaking to see. The blonde didn't even care about dressing Primrose up, she just placed her raincoat on top of the toddler's pajamas and headed out after grabbing her purse with everything that she needed inside.

When Emma arrived at the nearest pediatric center, the thunderstorm was still loud and alive, but the only thing she cared was making sure her daughter was seen. After signing in, Emma realized that they were now exposed and she was hoping that if they were recognized at least they could be left alone out of respect.

As Emma waited for her daughter to be called for a check-up, she called Tony and he picked up after two rings.

_"Hey Em, what's up?"_

"Tony I'm at the hospital with Prim," she started, trying not to sob. Emma was scared but she didn't want to pass her emotions to her already feeble daughter.

She heard the phone on the other side being dropped and then quickly picked up,  _"Is everything okay? Are you and Prim okay?!"_  he quickly asked.

Emma tried to remain calm as her daughter cuddled into her chest, she gently shushed her and stroke her hair when Primrose whined again, "No, I don't think so. She had a fever and she vomited minutes ago."

_"Shit, which hospital are you?"_

"I'm actually at a pediatric clinic, it's the one where we went for Prim's vaccines."

 _"I'll be there as fast as I can Em, is Prim feeling good enough to speak?"_  he asked, his voice was hopeful.

"Wait," she placed her phone on Primrose's ear, "Hey Prim, wanna speak with daddy?" Emma cooed.

Primrose weakly opened her eyes, "Daddy?" she whimpered, and then she started sobbing as Emma heard Tony's voice from the phone.

 _"Hey baby girl, don't cry, please! Daddy is on his way, I'll be there so fast baby,"_  Tony's soothing voice was calming down her sobbing, but Primrose was too weak to even move her head from her mom's chest,  _"I know it hurts honey, but you need to be brave."_

Tony's soothing continued until Emma had to hang up after they were called by the doctor. After the check-up, the diagnosis was that Primrose had acute gastroenteritis.

Emma was shocked and asked as many questions as she could. Primrose had received some treatment, she received oral rehydration which made her daughter almost vomit again. After almost an hour, Emma and Primrose saw the doctor again and he gave her a prescription for paracetamol for the headaches and high temperatures when Emma asked if she should give her daughter anything else the doctor explained how unsafe it was to give children under the age of twelve medicines to stop diarrhea, and that it often settles within a few days or so as a child's immune system is usually able to clear the infection.

Emma accepted the doctor's advice, albeit reluctant.

Primrose was asleep by the time Emma left the hospital, the thunderstorm had calmed down and only frizzling rain fell down. Her phone rang after she strapped Primrose on her baby chair, and she picked up already knowing who was on the other side.

"Hi Tony, we already left," she informed quickly as she got inside the car.

_"I landed five minutes ago, I'm on my way to your place. Meet you there?"_

"Yeah," she said quickly.

 _"How is she?"_  he asked with a tense voice.

"She's asleep, but she's better now. At least she's hydrated. Tony, I need to drive, okay? We'll talk better later." she told him, not wanting to sound impatient.

 _"Y-Yeah, sorry, sorry, I'll see you in a bit then."_  he stammered before hanging up.

Emma took a deep breath and placed her phone on the purse to the seat next to her, she turned on the engine and started driving home, trying to keep her mind focused now that she knew Primrose would be fine.

* * *

**3:12 PM**

When Emma arrived home, Tony was there only fifteen minutes later with Happy trailing behind. Primrose was sleeping on her bed, and Emma had placed a bowl on her nightstand in case she would wake up to vomit.

When the two parents saw that their daughter was peacefully sleeping, they felt both relaxed but still anxious at the same time.

"I can't believe you came," Emma started as she started preparing coffee for the three adults.

Tony smirked as he and Happy sat on the couch, the television was on but at this point, it was only for background noise.

"I can't believe it either, but four years later I haven't regretted it." Tony joked, making Emma and Happy roll their eyes at his dirty humor.

"Tony" Emma wasn't really in the mood to joke around, so she gave him a warning tone.

Tony lost his smirk right again and sighed, "Sorry I was just so anxious. When you called me I thought you were going to talk about something cute that Primrose did or said but then I heard your voice and my world dropped, I thought something terrible happened to you or our daughter," Tony rubbed his eyes, they were starting to burn, "I thought that maybe a crazy fan had broke in or–"

"Tony!" Emma snapped, seeing that he was nearing a panic attack, "We're fine, calm down, please" she sighed as she finished pouring the freshly made coffee into two mugs, "We're fine, hon, we're okay. I was just a little bit dramatic because this was the first time Prim got really sick, I was s-shaken." with trembling hands, she made her way to both men and handed them their respective mugs, "I'm sorry," the blonde didn't even return to the kitchenette to grab her own mug, she just sat on the couch between Tony and Happy and stared at the television's screen, a sad expression in her eyes.

Happy felt a little bit sympathetic, but awkward as well. So he just sipped on his coffee and let the two converse.

"I don't know why you're apologizing?" Tony confusedly said, "You did nothing wrong! You were scared, that's normal! You're her mom you're supposed to fear for her life and well-being!" Tony wanted Emma to know how much of a good mother she was, he was so relieved and happy that his daughter would grow up with at least one normal parent, "You're already a better parent than I am!"

There were the self-decrepitating words that Tony used, and that Emma hated.

"No, I'm not, we're both equals Tony." she yelled, tired of hearing Tony hate himself and hiding it, she was studying psychology and she knew self-decrepitation when she saw it, "Stop doubting yourself because of your father, you're nothing like him, you're better! You'll never be a bad father, you're already doing better than he did! Why can't you see that?! Do you know how much Primrose loves her daddy? She loves you so much!" she continued yelling, trying not to raise her voice at him too harshly.

He stared at her, shaking. His eyes, widened and full of emotion, started watering as Tony tried to keep himself with a stoic expression.

Happy coughed, "I'm gonna, uh, check on Prim," he smartly excused himself to leave the two to talk more in private.

As Happy left, an awkward and tense silence settled in the room. And both Emma and Tony got involved in a bad game of a staring contest.

Until Emma sighed in defeat, she started to feel remorseful and was about to apologize for her outburst when Tony beat her to it.

"I know," he began with a tone so puny that Emma also wanted to hug him immediately, "I k-know, Emma I know I'm s-sorry I just, I just don't want to end up being like him. I don't want to be my father, I don't want Prim to hate me, to shut me out to not trust me to tell things and, and" at this point, Emma had grabbed his mug and settled it on the coffee table, "I just want to be there," he leaned towards her, and Emma knew what to do, she opened her arms invitingly and wrapped them around him when he rested his head on her shoulder, "I want to be a good father," the blonde used one hand to gently play with his hair and the other to make soothing moves on his back, "I love you both so much" he whispered, and Emma felt his tears falling on her collarbone.

She smiled warmly, he was finally opening up to her, she didn't want to force him but after all these years it felt good to hear Tony finally say what he had been holding inside for so long, "We love you too," it was her immediate reply, she wanted to be as reassuring as she could, "And we both think you're a wonderful father and friend."

He hugged her back, pressing her close to him. To someone that didn't know about Tony and Emma, and walked in on them right now, they could think that they're having a romantic moment. But the two remained platonic over the years, and it would continue like that forever. Tony could not look at Emma and see the beautiful woman he'd seen on that end of the year party, she had been just another one nightstand but now, four years later, Emma became his family. A sister, a friend and a teacher.

"I hope you didn't just use your psychologist mumbo-jumbo on me," Tony lightly said, trying to wipe his tears quickly when they departed from their hug.

She chuckled, ignoring his attempt and grabbing a tissue from the tissue box settled on the coffee table, "No, maybe? I can't lie, I'll admit that I've learned a lot since I was eighteen but I would never manipulate you into talking about your deep emotions with my mumbo-jumbo," after handing him a tissue, she rolled her eyes at his choice of words.

He grinned as he dried his eyes, looking at her affectionately, "I love you Em," he stated.

Emma grabbed his coffee mug and took a sip from it, "I love you too, dummy."

They were fine, they were going to be okay. Primrose was going to be okay.


	6. Emma's Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has almost no dialogue! It's mostly just a recap on what's going on with Emma's life during 2006. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> PS: DID YOU SEE THE NEW TRAILER FOR ENDGAME? I'M QUACKING!

**Primrose's Age: Four years and three months old.**  
**Date: January, 2006**

Emma finished her master's degree and was now in the process of moving to New York City to get her Ph.D. The twenty-seven-year-old was very excited but nervous at the same time, she already found a good clinic for her internship and now all the needed to do was hunt for a good apartment.

Her parents were very proud of her success, they still weren't that sure about having their daughter and granddaughter move so far away but they were supportive. Emma wasn't going to let anyone stop her.

Hunting for apartments was harder than she thought and Emma didn't want to stress much about it, but she was slowly becoming a perfectionist so for her, everything had to be near flawless.

When Primrose returned from Tony's, Emma noticed that her daughter started drawing a lot. Emma bought her a pack of crayons and a stack of paper, and Primrose would just lie down on her teepee almost all day, just drawing whatever it came to the toddler's imagination. What was cute was that Prim would ask Emma to sign each drawing like a stamp of approval. Their fridge was getting full of them and Emma had to buy more magnets to hold them all.

It was when the month was almost at its end when Emma finally found an apartment in Hunters Point in Queens. The two-bedroom apartment was situated in 'The View Condominiums' just next to the East River.

Primrose went to spend her week with Tony, Emma availed from that and went to New York City to check out the apartment with a real estate agent. She loved the apartment, and it had a view to Manhattan and it was located near parks, restaurants, supermarkets, convenient stores basically, she was near everything!

She sealed the deal, and she returned to San Francisco to start packing.

When Emma told Tony, he was happy for her. She told him that the apartment had good security, had a great view and that Primrose would have her own bedroom, she's been sleeping in a crib inside Emma's. Tony offered to pay half of the rent, but Emma refused because she wasn't paying half of his rent so it didn't seem fair – he grudgingly let it go.

However, Tony was the one that hired the people to help Emma with the moving, she basically didn't lift anything heavy.

Primrose was confused to why her mommy's home was almost empty, Emma had to sit down with her and tell her they were moving to New York, the toddler thought they were leaving her daddy behind so she started crying, telling Emma she didn't want to go. The process that took to explain Primrose that they were not abandoning Tony was long, and Emma had to call the man himself for him to reassure that she would still be with her dad every other week, nothing was going to change.

Primrose calmed down after that and was even delighted when she was told that instead of one, she'd fly for five hours. Primrose did really end up loving being in the sky since she'd been flying from parent to parent ever since she was born.

After the whole drama was over, Emma continued her transition to New York. All of her things were confirmed to already have arrived at her new apartment, all it was left was an old mattress that she didn't need and that she was using to spend the night at her old place one last time.

Emma was too embarrassed to admit it but she felt emotional that last night, this is the apartment where her daughter was born. She knew that Primrose wouldn't remember her home in San Francisco but Emma would, and she would miss it.

* * *

**February, 2006**

During the first week, Emma arranged her furniture and confirmed her internship while Primrose was at Tony's, she had been concerned about the five-hour trip taking a toll on her daughter but Tony assured her that when she arrived in Malibu, Prim had been fine. She took a nap on the plane and then acted normal for the rest of the day.

Emma still remembers her daughter's first reaction to their new apartment, she had been scared to even approach the floor-to-ceiling windows in their living room because they were on the fourteenth floor, Emma had to admit that she also felt some vertigo the first time she looked down from there.

But everything was going great, Primrose would stay home with a fixed babysitter hired by Tony that would take care of Primrose every other week, or at least when Emma was working and Primrose was with her.

Her name was Louise Hooper and she could do anything from fixing meals to come up with stories on the spot and mesmerize Primrose. Emma liked Louise, she was a friendly and very nurturing thirty-five-year-old woman of average height and was slightly overweight. She wore spectacles over her warm brown eyes and had rose, brown hair. Louise has been working for the Cathy Cares babysitting company for almost six years.

Prim seemed to love her as well, there were no complaints when Louise prepared her famous chocolate brownies and left some for Emma as well.

Louise also understood the whole situation, when Tony and Emma told her that she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement the babysitter didn't mind at all, she was not interested in telling the news where Tony Stark's daughter lived and have her seven minutes of fame.

Emma trusted Louise, and after Tony met her and tried her brownies he ended up liking her as well. The woman was too maternal to be sneaky.

* * *

**March, 2006**

Primrose liked staring at Manhattan from her the tall windows in her living room. Last month she had been scared to even approach them but now all she did was play near them, letting the natural light shower over her small body. Both women were getting used to the city's noises at night, and Primrose was already able to sleep in her own room without being scared – as long as she had her night-light that Tony made that transmitted the galaxy onto his space-loving daughter's ceiling.

Emma's internship was going great, she was learning every day and in addition to coursework and a dissertation, she was honing their clinical skills under the watchful eye of a licensed clinical psychologist. She would only have to be an intern for two years and then she'd finally be licensed enough to be called Dr. Emma Evans.

Between her internship and taking care of Primrose, Emma found an escape to let her stress out: jogging. Emma started waking up at dawn and jog around her neighborhood, filled with parks, and because of that she a good bodega where she started purchasing ramen noodles and chips – also, the cute cat that they had there was a plus.

Until now, New York City was treating her nice. Which was the opposite of what her parents warned, they told her that New Yorkers could be rude to outsiders and Emma wondered that the only reason that hasn't happened yet was that she and Primrose lived in an area with friendlier citizens?

* * *

**May, 2006**

When Primrose was with her father this week, Tony started to think that having her flying five hours every Friday wasn't fair for his baby girl. He started talking with Pepper about buying an apartment near Emma's.

The only advice Pepper gave was for him to discuss it with Emma before he did anything on impulse.

So when Tony threw himself a birthday party to celebrate turning thirty-six-years-old, nothing too extravagant, it was just close friends and family, he talked with Emma while Primrose was being fed cake by Rhodey on another room.

Basically, Emma told him that it wasn't worth it for him to do that. It wasn't fair for him to buy an apartment just for him to be there every other week, besides her had a job in California, he had responsibilities there.

"Prim is my most important responsibility!" he had burst at her, very emotionally.

They had both been quiet after that, but in the end, they decided not to argue, especially on his birthday, and to let things as they were. But Tony did say that he wasn't giving up on his idea to have a place in New York so he can be closer to his daughter and Emma.

* * *

**June, 2006**

Unexpectedly, and it seemed to be a regular thing for her to do, Joan showed up at Emma's place on an afternoon while Primrose was taking her nap.

Emma was shocked at first, they kept contact and the blonde did tell Joan her new address and how everything was going but she would never expect her best friend from college to drop by all the way from Chicago, it turns out her husband was in the city for a business meeting.

Joan came to visit her as a surprise, and that wasn't the only surprise she had stored.

Joan was three months pregnant!

Emma was obviously happy for her friend, and Joan emotionally told her that she and Jack had been trying for two years and finally after many sad failures, they finally were going to start a family. Congratulating her, Emma asked as many questions she could to make Joan even happier and one of them was if she knew the gender of the baby yet, her friend explained that she was throwing a baby shower fused with a gender reveal party in October and that she and Primrose were invited.

Emma told her that she'd have to check back with her because of the parental schedule Tony and she had, and Joan dismissed her by stating that she would set the date on a day of the week Emma had Primrose with her.

Emma found that very sweet of Joan.

When Primrose woke up from her nap she was happy to see her auntie Joan again, the two women were slightly surprised that the toddler still remembered Joan after only meeting her once but Joan wasn't complaining as she let Primrose show her all the drawings she did since she started her little artistic journey.

When Joan told little Prim that she was pregnant, the toddler was excited and immediately claimed that baby as her friend. And while she did, Joan dropped another bomb on Emma when she asked if she wanted to be godmother.

Emma was shocked, deep inside she always felt guilty for not making Joan a godmother of her daughter but the two weren't talking to each other that time, and now that Joan was asking her to be godmother of her own baby she almost didn't feel like she deserved it, but after seeing the hopeful eyes her friend was throwing at her, she wasn't able to say no.

And after her answer, Joan gave her the tightest hug Emma ever received, even Primrose joined as she hugged both women's legs.

Joan left hours later, with the promise of sending her an invitation by mail and Emma told her she would be expecting it. The two departed and Primrose started including Joan and her future baby in her drawings – Emma would have to show those to Joan in the future.

* * *

**August, 2006**  
**Location: Hunter's Point South Park Playground**

It was a really warm Sunday, Emma was enjoying her time sitting on a park bench under the shade of a lovely tree, watching Primrose play on the sandbox with other children. Turns out, her daughter was very shy around other kids of her age, and Emma felt like that was her fault for always keeping Primrose inside of the apartment.

Louise told her that when she took Primrose to the park for the first time, the toddler refused to go play with the other children and would start crying if Louise left her in the sandbox by herself.

So Emma started taking Primrose to the park more, having her socialize and make friends. Since Tony and she agreed that Primrose would have to be homeschooled, she knew that there had to be another way for her daughter to make friends other than at school so the six-minute away park had to be it.

And it worked, Emma was now relieved to see Primrose talking to other toddlers and sharing things with them, right now she was working on a castle with another boy and the two really seemed concentrated in it.

As Emma kept watching, a woman approached and sat next to her. She didn't pay much attention to her until she addresses her.

"I take that the little girl playing with my son on the sandbox is yours?"

Emma looked at the woman, she was pretty. With long, wavy hair and a pair of warm brown eyes, the woman offered Emma a kind smile.

"Yeah, she's mine." the blonde replied, smiling back.

"Well, he's mine," the woman chuckled, "I'm Mary, by the way."

"I'm Emma," she gives back.

The two start talking about their children, how old they were and their names. And Emma feels guilty for not telling her Prim's full name but ever since the chaotic mess that happened because of Jennifer Malcolm she has been cautious and leaving the 'Stark' surname out for strangers.

"Primrose is such a lovely name, so old-fashioned. If I ever have a daughter I'd name her Eleanor or Frances." Mary said with a distant smile, it was clear to Emma that this woman was holding back but she didn't delve into it, after all, they probably weren't going to see each other anymore.

Or maybe this could mean the start of something new? Maybe Primrose would become best friends with Mary's son? Emma rolled her eyes at her own thoughts, it was too soon. She was only excited at the idea of her daughter having a friend.

Primrose and her new friend spent half-an-hour building their castle and then when they were done, Emma saw on her watch that it was getting late. She still had to make dinner, give Emma a bath and do the laundry so it was time to go.

She said goodbye to Mary and Primrose said goodbye to the boy, and when they left she heard the woman said something to her son before Prim started begging her to buy her ice cream.

"So Peter, did you had fun with your new friend?

 


	7. The Fifth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new update! It's a short chapter but as soon as I start writing the canon chapters they will be longer!

**Date: October 17th, 2006**   
**Primrose's Age: 5 years old.**   
**Location: Malibu, California, 7:22 PM**

It was a warm afternoon in California, the sun was just setting, and Tony thought it was a perfect day for his little girl's fifth birthday. The catering company that he chose had already set everything accordingly. There were Baskin-Robbins ice cream, pastries from Paris, milk and white chocolate fountain and most importantly Primrose's birthday cake that she chose herself, it was chocolate with peanut butter ice cream cake that everyone enjoyed. Especially Primrose.

The table on the dining room that he has never used was set for the birthday dinner between him and the people in Primrose's life.

Such as her godparents, her mother and Emma even invited Happy, because the personal driver has become someone that Prim included in her drawings. At first, he felt awkward by being around, but then after everyone welcomed him, even Tony made a few jokes around him, he opened up more and became laid back. Unfortunately, Emma's parents couldn't make it, but they sent their gifts through the mail.

Everyone was getting ready for dinner, Primrose was still hungry even after eating two pieces of cake and a few scoops of ice cream not even two hours ago.

Emma was now twenty-eight years old, and she couldn't believe it has been five years since her life changed – she thought it would be for worst but it had been for the better. Prim was sitting on her lap, and both were waiting on everyone to come to the living room as they watched the sunset on the sea's horizon. They were both silent, taking in the beautiful sky all colored with hues of pink, orange, and red. Emma hugging her daughter closely, and she could feel Primrose already planning on drawing the scene before her, she was an artist and Emma was proud.

Since everyone already realized that little Prim enjoyed sketching and drawing, Tony had given his daughter very expensive art supplies, Pepper gave her a beautiful dress with matching shoes, Happy - who would feel awkward if he didn't bring anything - gave Primrose a generic baby doll that she ended up naming Lola. Rhodey however, gave Primrose fifty dollars since he had no idea what to buy her, Emma kept those fifty dollars and promised Primrose that they would go shopping for her gift soon.

Primrose had a good birthday, and that's all Emma could've hoped for. The two enjoying the sunset was the perfect way to end the day.

"Beautiful isn't it? A California sunset attracts many people."

Emma's skin jumped at a voice she hadn't heard in almost years because she had avoided it.

"Obadiah!" She gasped as she stood up quickly, Primrose wrapped around her arms.

He chuckled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" Obadiah was carrying a wrapped present on his left hand, "I just want to drop by quickly to wish the little one a happy birthday and leave her a gift from uncle Obie." he smiled at Primrose, and the friendly toddler smiled back.

Emma gave him a curt smile, "That's nice, say hi, Prim." Emma encouraged her.

"Hi," the brunette shyly greeted.

Obadiah's smile widened, "Hi yourself, happy birthday! Jesus, look at you, last time I saw you-you were this little mouse! I hope you like this gift, I'm not good at buying things for other people I'm only good at buying for myself," he casually joked, and Emma forced a chuckle.

She didn't know why Obadiah Stane seemed so off to her, the man simply didn't cause a good first impression when they met. When Tony introduced them, Obadiah kept staring at her and Emma felt nothing but uncomfortable under his eyes.

Emma put Primrose down and watched Obadiah give her the gift, it turned out to be a 'Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone' book. Emma was intrigued at that, she heard about the books and she saw the movie, it had come out a month after Primrose's birth. Emma liked it but she hasn't watched the others.

"She doesn't know how to read yet," Emma informed him, watching her daughter inspect the book with interest.

Obadiah seemed to stare at her as well, thoughtful, "Well, when she starts learning at least she'll have something to practice with. The lady in the store said that this was a good children's book. Very popular in England." he asserted.

Primrose smiled at him, "Thank you." she addressed. She looked at the cover again and decided to approach the window to keep watching the sunset, which was almost gone.

With Primrose gone, Obadiah stepped closer to Emma, a long smile on his face. Emma wanted to step back but she stayed in place, fearless.

"So, five years have passed. You must be proud," he started, "I don't know what it's like – to have children. I mean, when I met Howard I also met Tony and he was a brilliant kid. I've always known that he'd surpass his father, and boy was I right. But I would never think that Tony would become a family man." he ended his little speech and Emma sensed envy and a little bit of passive-aggressiveness on his tone, even though he was smiling all the time.

She nodded, agreeing with him would be the logical thing to do, "Yep," she shortly replied, staring at Primrose all the time, "Before going to that party, I read a column about Tony Stark and all I got was that he was a billionaire and a playboy, two things that the world hates to love. There are shows about it, magazines and even products to make people look like them, but now? I love who Tony Stark is," she smirked when Obadiah looked mildly surprised, "No, not like that. Tony is my friend, nothing else," Emma quickly added as she heard Obadiah chuckle shortly, "Now I think that Tony is a good person, a complicated one but good. He's a good father, a good friend, a good man," she sighed, now noticing how much her daughter looked like him.

Obadiah hummed, letting her words settling in, "Well you came into our life like a surprise attack. But I'm sure Tony doesn't regret it."

The way he phrased that made Emma feel uncomfortable again, but she continued forcing her lips into a smile, "I guess he doesn't."

They were now staring at each other as the last light of the sunset disappeared under the ocean, as the sky became darker so did Obadiah's and Emma's instincts were telling her to just walk away from this man.

"Well!" Obadiah suddenly clapped his hands quite energetically, "I have to go back to work. I just wanted to drop by quickly, in and out."

She was about to say goodbye when a very excited voice interrupted them.

"Obie! You're here, what are you doing here?" Tony approached them with long, quick steps but went straight to Primrose instead, making her squeal happily, "Now I got you!"

Obadiah and Emma smiled at the exchange.

"I only came here to give your daughter a gift. I'm already leaving," he told Tony.

Tony seemed surprised, "What? No, stay!"

Emma gave him a warning look.

"Or not," Tony quickly and casually shrugged, after seeing her face, "If you have work to do, get out of here."

Obadiah shook his head, already knowing that Tony was only joking, "No, no. I have to go, just enjoy the day with your daughter. I have work to do." he dismissed himself by already starting to walk towards the door, "JARVIS, please open the door for me."

"Right away, Mr. Stane." the robotic voice replied from the ceiling.

Tony looked at Emma with a questioning look, he never really understood why Emma didn't want Obadiah around, but if she was uncomfortable around him then he would just not mention the man at all, it was still very confusing to Tony still. Obadiah was his partner, almost a father figure. Even Primrose liked him!

"See you tomorrow, Obie!" Tony called out, his voice echoing.

"Oh, and thanks for the present!" Emma added, not wanting to be rude. She might think he's odd but he still gave something to her daughter.

Obadiah waved at them as he kept walking, and then he was gone.

Primrose squealed again as Tony made a raspberry on her cheek, "Well princess, did you enjoy your birthday?"

"Yeah!" she giggled, "Look what uncle Obie got me!" she showed him the Harry Potter book and he hummed, interested.

"Seems like we got us here a new bedtime story." he grabbed the book from her hands and inspected it, "Seems interesting enough." he put her down again and ruffled her hair, making her giggle again, "Go show it to everyone else, they're already in the dining room waiting for you and mommy," he gave her a gentle push for her to start walking, leaving Emma and Tony alone.

There was a small pause.

"So did Obadiah get on your nerves or something?" Tony walked up to Emma, his tone calm.

She shrugged, hugging herself, "No, he's actually nice."

"So why the silent treatment on him? Why not invite him?" Tony didn't want to seem like he was pressuring Emma to tell him the truth, but he was just so lost about the whole situation.

She groaned, "Tony just drop it, I just find him a little weird! I'm not forced to really like him, am I?" Emma exclaimed.

Tony raised his hands up, in surrender, "Hey, hey! It's a happy occasion, no arguments! It's fine, you're right! But I'm not forcing you to like him, I'm just curious and confused. But if you don't like him I get it, I don't trust bald people too. Obie is an exception," he took hold of her hand, "Calm down" he smiled at her, "Look at you all red with anger, at least you don't go green." Tony joked, grinning when he saw Emma crack a small smile.

"Leave the Hulk out of his you dummy," she flicked his nose, and he almost avoided it. Almost.

* * *

He brought her back to the dining room, where everyone greeted the two. After sitting down, Emma fixed Primrose's plate and noticed that her daughter wasn't that picky with her food, the only thing she refused to eat was the steamed carrots. Which was strange because her daughter loved raw carrots. Everyone chatted between each other, told appropriate jokes because a child was with them (and they didn't miss Tony and Emma's warning stares), and in the end, when they were having dessert, Tony decided to rise of his chair a raise his champagne glass filled with apple juice, Primrose's favorite.

"I'd like to make a toast," he gave time for everyone to raise their respective glasses, even Primrose raised her sippy cup, "To Primrose, my love, my life, and my greatest creation. Today she's five, tomorrow she rules the world. And I'll be there to guide her," he paused, "Or at least I'll ask Emma to guide me into guiding her," everyone chuckled at that as Emma rolled her eyes with a fond look on her expression, "Anyways, a toast to Primrose, my daughter, and the future."

Everyone clinked glasses with each other, "A toast to Primrose!"

"ME!" the five-year-old exclaimed, reaching to clink her sippy cup with everyone as well.

They continued eating dessert, Emma even made coffee, and when nine o'clock rolled in, Primrose was basically fighting to keep balance on her chair as she nodded on and off into sleep. Tony stopped Emma before the woman could stand up to take her to bed, she thanked him and when Tony picked Primrose to carry her, she kissed her daughter's cheek and bid her a good night, and so did everyone else as the toddler sleepily waved at them while resting her head on her father's shoulder.

Tony hummed a melody as he went up the stairs, from listening to her breathing he could tell that she had already fallen asleep, so he felt bad when he had to wake her up again to dress her up in her pajamas, a soft onesie. Primrose finally got in her crib, when Tony covered her he noticed that his baby girl was getting too big to continue sleeping in a baby crib, he had to start thinking about buying a toddler bed. She snuggled herself against her favorite blue bunny plushie.

"G'night daddy" she tiredly said, her voice cracking a little bit.

Tony felt his chest warm up instantly, it was something that only Primrose could do. Only her.

"I love you baby girl, sleep well," he kissed her head and stayed there for a while, waiting for her to really fall asleep, "Daddy will always be there for you, and if I break my promise I'm so sorry" he whined a little bit and closed his eyes, not wanting to even imagine he being like Howard, "But I'll try Prim, I'll try happy birthday, honey."


	8. Quality Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a huge time skip on this one, maybe I'm just eager to finally start writing Iron Man. I've never poured so much thought into a story.

**Primrose's Age: 5 years and 10 months old.  
Date: August 18th, 2007  
Location: Malibu, California**

**8 AM**

Tony Stark, thirty-seven, woke up with a prickly feeling that he was being watched. He rose up onto his elbows, squinted at the motionless figure in his bedroom doorway, and then collapsed back down onto the mattress. He rolled over to his side and burrowed into the sheets.

"If you're here to murder me I have a brief warning first, I'm too tired to fight you and I have a pirate as my bodyguard, all I have to do is tell my robot butler to call her and you're history, pal," Tony grumbled and groped for his pillow. He moved it over his head and began slipping back towards sleep.

"Daddy please, wake up! You promised!"

The figure on the doorway was his daughter, his everything. He had picked her up from LaGuardia Airport last night and even though both arrived tired and went straight to bed after eating some Chinese take-out for dinner, his almost-six-year-old still managed to wake up early.

The bed shook as Primrose threw herself down upon it with a dramatic groan. Tony mimicked her and grabbed tightly onto the covers, yanking them over his head. Primrose gave them a futile tug.

"Prim," Tony whispered, "be quiet. We aren't leaving until  _noon_. It's eight. Go and find something to do for four hours, like, sleeping?"

"I can't! I'm too excited!" she whined, the bed shook as Primrose clambered up the mattress. She wormed her way underneath the duvet and wedged herself next to her father.

When Tony cracked an eye open, his daughter was pouting at him, cocooned inside the blankets right alongside him. He almost laughed right there when he noticed her messy, bed-hair. Primrose had wild curls that seemed like she was wearing a mane and her pouty expression made her look like a lion cub trying to look scary.

"Daddy"

"No." Tony shut his eyes again. Trying to ignore how cute his daughter sounded. Whenever she called him daddy Tony felt like giving whatever she asked for, but Emma warned him not to let that happen or else Primrose would use that against him.

" _Please?_ "

"No, ask me again at ten."

Primrose, unfazed at that moment (a character trait she got from her dad), responded by pushing her small hands into her dad's cheeks, "Please, daddy"

_'Oh, crap.'_ He thought, almost giving in.

Time to act.

Primrose let out a shrill mixture between an outraged cry and a laugh when Tony attempted to pry her out from underneath the covers. He smiled softly as her laughter filled the room and after a few moments of unsuccessful cover-tugging and Primrose-prodding, Tony gave up.

"Ugh, I've been defeated," Tony dramatically announced as he fell back into the mattress.

"You can't silence the will of a pirate without defeat!" Primrose yelled at him, still enveloped in the duvet. Tony winced.

"There's nothing silent about you, Prim." he pointed out while using Primrose's pet name to keep the truthful criticism from sounding too harsh.

Primrose stuck her tongue out to her father but bounced over to him a moment later, curling up to him like a cat.

"I missed you," Prim said. Her first yawn in the morning spilled from her lips.

Tony's heart warmed. He gently stroked over Primrose's hair, mindful to not make it messier than it already was, "I didn't go anywhere." he pointed out.

"Yeah, you did. People go to places when they sleep. They leave," She looked at her dad. And then, like she hadn't said anything at all, said: "Can we make breakfast now? We need to hurry daddy, you promised we would go to Disneyland!"

_"Sir, there has been an accident in road I-10 E and I-5 S so I do suggest leaving early since the accident will cause a delay of fifty minutes."_  JARVIS suddenly informed, making Primrose grin at the ceiling.

"Yeah, all right." Tony finally relented, "Go wait for me in the kitchen."

"Thanks, JARVIS!" Primrose happily said as she scampered towards the door.

_"You are most welcome, Ms. Evans-Stark."_  the A.I replied, quite cheerfully.

"Whose side are you on?" Tony called out when Primrose was gone.

_"The winner's side, sir."_

* * *

**8 PM**

Tony Stark was rightfully tired.

He spent a full day with his daughter at Disneyland, and boy did his daughter had fun. She and he rode almost every ride they could with her height, met a lot of characters, ate a lot of junk food that Emma would not approve and he had to promise his daughter that he'd take her back there soon for them to actually leave.

If Primrose knew that some rides only closed at midnight Tony feared that they would still be there.

They were both sitting on the couch on the room where Primrose usually watched television, it was a small one with floor-to-ceiling windows that seemed cozy and perfect to rest his legs after a full day of walking. Primrose, however, was swinging hers in a happy manner while she worked on the churro they bought before leaving.

"You should save that for after dinner," he pointed out while smiling.

"This is my dinner, daddy," she retorted, happily licking the sugar off her lips.

He arched an eyebrow at that, "Please, for the love of God, don't tell your mom that." he begged, already hearing Emma scolding him for letting Primrose eat too much sugar just because she had good 'puppy eyes'.

Tony smiled at Primrose, but then it dropped when he realized that she'd start being homeschooled next month. His baby was starting first grade, time flew fast and the billionaire was not enjoying the speed. Emma and he decided to have Primrose homeschooled by two tutors: one in Malibu and one in Hunters Point.

Everything was already taken care of, and when Emma and Tony explained Primrose that she'd be homeschooled, she was saddened at first. Primrose has become better at making friends, Emma told Tony their daughter actually made a few whenever they went to the park near their apartment. It seems that Primrose was hoping to go to the school where they go but her sad mood wouldn't change a thing.

And so Primrose just ended up accepting it, and Tony was thankful his little girl could be so understanding some times. Better than he was when he was her age and when Howard had to choose his job over spending time with his own son – or when Howard sent him to that private school.

He was lucky to have Primrose.

"Hey, daddy?" she suddenly said. But then she looked hesitant to continue.

"Yeah, baby girl?" Tony replied using a soft tone, coaxing her.

"Do you love mommy?"

Tony was surprised at her question but replied right away, "Yes, of course!"

Primrose seemed confused at his answer, "But you don't kiss? And you don't live together likes normal daddies and mommies do."

Tony was clarified with what she meant, and he couldn't help but hum thoughtfully, "Yeah you're right honey. I love your mom, but not in that way." he saw Primrose become even more intrigued, so, with a small chuckle he picked her up and placed her on his lap, "You see baby girl, when I met your mommy I just wanted something from her, when she gave it to me I never thought I'd see her again. But then she told me she was pregnant of you, so daddy and mommy tried to work things out together and even before you were born, we became close. As friends."

"What did mommy give to y–"

"A-Anyways," Tony quickly continued, "When you were born, mommy and daddy's friendship grew into trust and something called platonic love. Platonic means that the love between your mom and I is purely made of friendship."

"Oh! Like Jim and his mom?"

Tony stuttered for a while, "Who's Jim?"

"From 'Treasure Planet', daddy!" Primrose scolded him, offended that her father forgot her favorite movie.

He made an understand sound but then thought about what she said, "No I don't love your mom like she's  _my_  mom," he shuddered for a moment, "But it is kinda like a familial love. Like a sister."

"You love mommy like a sister?!" Primrose exclaimed, cringing her face like she had sucked a lemon.

"No–yes?!" he laughed at her face, "Oh GOD! I can't do this! Look kiddo," he laughed even more, "All you need to know is that even if I don't love your mom the way a dad normally does, I care about her a lot. It's just she and I are not meant to be."

Primrose stared at him, seemingly trying to absorb all of the confusing information her dad just gave her. Then she smiled, "Okay! Can we watch a movie?"

Tony was speechless at the sudden change, it was like her attention quickly directed itself somewhere else quickly enough for the two of them to forget about the semi-serious conversation they just had.

"Sure kiddo, what do you want to watch?" Mentally, Tony was begging his daughter not to choose a Disney movie.

"Treasure Planet!" she screamed, excitedly. It seems that the sugar she ate today was still kicking in her blood.

He groaned as the five-year-old hopped down from his lap and scattered towards the shelve filled with her personal movies.

"Can we watch something else, honey? How about 'The Incredibles'?" he suggested quickly, impressing himself by remembering correctly the name of an animated movie.

Primrose seemed to ponder on that for a moment, before she grinned and nodded, "Okay, I guess a super-hero movie is the best way to end this day!"

"Why is that?" Tony asked, smiling tiredly at his little girl.

"Because you're my hero, daddy!" the brunette sweetly told him as she grabbed the DVD.

Right behind her, without her seeing, Tony dramatically held his hand against his heart as if he's been hit. Only his daughter could make him feel these type of emotions.

* * *

**I'm late but I want to dedicate this chapter to Father's Day because Tony would be a good father and you can't change my mind.**


	9. Birthday Scare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The last chapter until we get to canon! Next chapter is going to be longer and it's where we officially start Iron Man! I'm so excited! This chapter is really short and I skipped a freaking year, I just want to start the canon chapters. But don't worry, I might slip in some flashbacks during the movies!

**Primrose's Age: Six years old.  
Date: October 17th, 2007  
Location: New York City, Central Park Zoo**

Primrose was busy having a staring contest with a lemur, its bright, yellow eyes intently bored into her brown ones and the two seemed both stubborn on looking away. Emma, twenty-nine, on the other hand, was downright amused.

The two were at inside the Tropic Zone of the zoo, checking out the boras, poisonous frogs and in this case, the Black-and-White ruffed lemurs. And one seemed to have caught Primrose's attention, or perhaps it was the other way around.

This year for her birthday, Tony had unfortunately been too busy. But being the understanding child she was becoming, Primrose told him that it was okay because as long he doesn't forget her birthday she would never be mad at him. Emma was starting to realize that her daughter was becoming mature for her age. Primrose wasn't exactly intelligent like her father was at her age but Emma noticed some spatial intelligence signs on Primrose.

Tony and Emma were definitely raising a little artist. Prim loves drawing and they would always recognize where they've been whenever Emma and her went on a walk, one time Primrose recognized a blue house they saw just because of a little chipmunk they've seen the other day. Primrose also loves looking at picture books and family photos of Emma and Tony, she asked so many questions about their past – it made Tony a little uncomfortable but Emma loved talking about her childhood.

"Mommy, take a photo of it so I can draw it at home!" Primrose suddenly tugged at her shirt, it seems like the brunette had lost the staring contest.

Emma paused and looked at her with an expectant and mild stern expression.

Primrose took a moment to finally catch up to why her mother was giving her one of the 'looks', "Oh!  _Please_ , can you take a photo?" she gave her a grin, trying to look innocent at the fact that she almost forgot her manners.

And so Emma took another photograph, she has been doing it for the past half-an-hour. Primrose practically demanded it before they left home, the little girl wants to draw every animal and then show it to her father since he wasn't here.

They then walked out of the Tropic Zone into the Temperate Zone, where Primrose squealed about how cute the red pandas were and how much she wanted to hug one, Emma took note of that and decided to buy a red panda plushie at the gift shop when they decided to leave. They also saw Snow Monkeys,

"Did you know that red pandas use their bushy tail to keep their balance when they climb those trees?" Emma told her daughter as they walked hand-in-hand to see the cranes.

There weren't many people around the zoo, maybe because it was a Wednesday afternoon and everyone was either busy with school or work – Emma had asked the day off and Primrose's tutor was asked not to come today so the two could've enjoyed the day better.

"Wow, really?" Primrose awed.

Emma nodded, "And Snow Monkeys actually love water, usually monkeys stay away from it because they can't swim but these ones actually like it."

Prim always thought that her parents were smart, so she wanted to be like them too so she asked them as many questions as she could, even when sometimes she could not understand the answers – she would pretend she did.

After they passed by the grizzly bears, they went to the central garden to sit down on a park bench and watch the sea lions for a while. While they did that, Emma decided to give Primrose the snacks the had brought. They watched the people pass by and Emma starting seeing some parents pass by with their respective children, mothers pushing their strollers, fathers carrying their kid on their shoulders. So many children of many ages, that made Emma wonder about Primrose. She was growing up so fast and learning quick, too. Emma didn't like thinking about her daughter growing up, it made her feel emotional.

But she knew it was going to happen.

After the small break, they visited the harbor seals, the penguins, and sea birds and the children's zoo where Emma took many photos of Primrose petting goats, there was one that came out beautifully of Primrose petting a Nubian goat with the sunlight right underneath them.

It was near six in the afternoon when they left the zoo, Primrose hugging a red panda plushie close to herself, and before they reached Emma's car, a sudden figure approached them.

"Ms. Evans! Ms. Evans!"

Emma groaned and hurried her steps, Primrose tagging along.

"Ms. Evans! I just want to ask some questions! How was Primrose's day? Did she have fun?" Emma didn't look back at the male voice following her, probably some random reporter and he was getting the attention of some bystanders.

"It was great, now please leave us alone."

Fortunately, he did stop pestering her and stayed behind. And as soon as they got inside the car, Emma waited for Primrose to buckle up to finally stop driving. She wasn't going to let a reporter who found out where they were today sour her mood.

"You're okay?" Emma asked Primrose as she drove through the streets of New York City.

She nodded, "Yeah, but I'm hungry!"

Emma smiled, "Then let's go pick up your birthday cake and junk food."

"And a movie!"

The blonde chuckled softly, "Yes honey, we'll pass by Blockbuster afterward."

* * *

**8 PM**

"How can you fit so many Reeses' Cups in your tiny body?" Emma asked, petting her own, full tummy.

They have been home for hours now, the candles have been blown an hour ago and the junk food eating began only thirty minutes ago. Emma was allowing Primrose to eat these type of food in quantity just for today, she normally wouldn't let her daughter eat this much crap every day but even Emma had to admit that once in a while, it felt good.

She hasn't eaten pizza in weeks, and today she didn't feel like cooking so she ordered her daughter's favorite. Pepperoni with olives. Emma personally hated olives, so she ordered for half of the pie to have pepperoni and olives and the other just pepperoni.

Her daughter devoured her half in minutes, and Emma was shocked that her little girl could still git two scoops of chocolate ice cream and two cups of Reeses'.

"I'm a monster," Primrose replied, licking the rest of the chocolate out of her lips.

"Okay, monster, no more food for tonight. It's time to brush your teeth and go to bed." Emma said as she looked at the clock on the wall above the television.

Primrose made a complaining noise, but after seeing the look on Emma's face she decided to hop out of the couch and obey her.

"I'll check on you to see if you really brushed them!" Emma called out as she heard her daughter making noises in the bathroom, "Do you need help?"

"Nope!" Primrose yelled from the bathroom, turning on the faucet.

Emma decided to clean up while her daughter brushed her teeth, she placed all the wrappers and plastics in the trash can and placed the already cold pizza in the fridge, next to the birthday cake.

"Hm, need to go grocery shopping soon," Emma mumbled to herself as she checked how empty her fridge was getting. Just as she closed the fridge's door, she heard Primrose high pitch scream from the bathroom.

Emma scattered towards it immediately, and she met with Primrose halfway when the little girl was already running to her, the foam of the paste dripping down her chin.

"PRIM! What's wrong?!" she exclaimed, shocked at her daughter's panic.

"SPIDER!" Primrose cried in panic, "Mommy there's a huge spider in there!"

Emma instantly relaxed her whole tensed up body, and let out a dramatic sigh of relief, "Primrose Maria Evans-Stark!"

"W-What?" she looked at her mother, still panic in her eyes, but confused as to why she was hearing her full name. Emma only called her that whenever she was in trouble.

"Don't give me a heart attack over a spider!" Emma scolded her, making her way to the bathroom. She rolled her eyes when Primrose tried to pull her back.

"No, mommy! It's dangerous! Don't go in there!" the six-year-old begged as if her mom's life was in actual danger.

Emma ignored her pleas and entered the bathroom, looking up in the ceiling, "Where is it?" she asked.

"It was crawling on the wall next to the bathtub" Primrose fearfully told her as she stayed in the doorway, her eyes widened, "Make sure it doesn't go near my toys, mommy" she whispered like she was scared the spider would hear and attack them.

Emma smiled amusedly and looked inside the tub, and there it was, a small spider trying to crawl up the watery walls. Emma tutted at it and bravely reached for it, careful to not squeeze it. As she held it in her hand, she quickly made a small cage with the other.

"There, I got it," As Emma made her way out of the bathroom, Primrose screamed and ran away from her, hiding in her bedroom.

"Prim? It's okay, come here." the blonde called out, trying to persuade her daughter.

"Mommy! STAY BACK!" Primrose yelled, hiding under the duvet of her bed, "I'll tell daddy!"

Emma sighed, she felt the little spider crawling on her hands to free itself, "Sit on your bed, I'll show you that you don't need to be afraid of it." the woman gently said as she walked inside the bedroom, "I promise you'll be fine, honey." she sat down on the bed, and waited for Primrose to get out of her hiding.

When she did, Prim still used the duvet as protection, covering her whole body and only showing her head. She was staring at her hand both curiously and fearfully.

"Look closely," Emma waited for the spider to settle before she uncovered one of her hands, "See?" she heard Primrose gasp, but after a while, the scary moment became anti-climatic when the spider didn't move.

"Uh," Primrose mumbled, deciding to approach her mom's hand, "It's so small." she stated, "But it looked so big in the bathroom," she added, looking at the spider with a small smile, "It's kinda cute!"

Emma smiled fondly at her.

Then the spider moved, quickly escaping.

Primrose refused to sleep in her bedroom for a week after that.


	10. Reality Check - IM 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, finally in the canon! I'm so excited for this, I have this story planned at least until Age of Ultron!
> 
> Credit for Transcript goes to Airbrushed.

**Primrose's Age: Six years and four months old.**  
Date: February 11th, 2008  
Location: Hunters Point, Queens

Today was a special day for Primrose, she was really excited to see her dad get an Apogee Award (he has gotten many but she was still proud every time). Her mom even allowed her to stay up past her curfew even when it was a Monday night. But Primrose had done her homework, ate her vegetables and brushed her teeth without any complaints just be here, sitting on the couch with the television on while her mom did some of her own work in the dining table, right behind her.

_**"Even from an early age, son of the legendary weapons developer Howard Stark quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind. At age four, he built his first circuit board."** _

Primrose smiled, "I know what a circuit board it! Daddy told me!"

Emma, her mom, smiled as she wrote down on her paper, "What is it, then?" she prompted.

Primrose paused for a moment, "I uh... forgot."

_**"At age six, his first engine. And at seventeen, he graduated summa cum laude from MIT."** _

"What's MIT?"

"It's a technology school," Emma answered, a smile still on her face. She was now focusing her attention more on the television than her work.

"Oh!"

**_"Then, the passing of a titan,"_ **

Primrose's smiled dropped when she saw a newspaper article titled 'Howard and Maria Stark Die in Car Accident on Long Island'. She was getting good at reading, but the brunette felt sad about having to read that. Her dad didn't speak much about his parents, but Primrose knew that her middle name, Maria, was the name of her late paternal grandmother.

**_"Howard Stark's lifelong friend and ally, Obadiah Stane, steps in to fill the gap left in by the legendary founder, until at age twenty-one, the prodigal son returns, and is anointed the CEO of Stark Industries."_ **

A few more pictures pass by before the screen shows one of her daddy with Obadiah behind him, looking over his shoulder. Primrose liked Obadiah, he was nice.

**_"With the keys to the kingdom, Tony ushers in a new era for his fathers legacy, creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, satellite targeting. Today, Tony Stark has changed the face of the weapons industry, by ensuring freedom and protecting America and her interests around the globe."_ **

The video ends and the podium on stage now has a spotlight shining on it, revealing a black man in uniform while the crowd applauded.

"Uncle Rhodey!" Primrose cheered, elated to see him on television, "Mommy look, it's uncle Rhodey!"

 _ **"As liaison to Stark Industries,"**  _Rhodey begins from the podium,  ** _"I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend, and he is my great mentor."_**

"And my godfather!" she added, quite proudly, and making Emma smirk.

 _ **"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee award to Mr. Tony Stark, "**_ Rhodey said as he smiled.

There's another round of applause, Primrose even joins in excitedly as the award music begins playing. But after a few moments, when no one walks up, Rhodey speaks into the mic.

**_"Tony?"_ **

Primrose stopped applauding and instead looked confusedly at the screen, her eyes scanning for her dad. She watched her godfather look into the audience for him as well. Then Obadiah appeared next to Rhodey, smiling at the crowd as he accepted the award on her father's behalf.

"Mommy, where's daddy?" the little girl asked with a sad tone.

"I don't know honey," Emma got up from sitting at the dining table to taking a place next to Primrose, who instantly clung on her mom's arm as both continued watching.

 ** _"Thank you, Colonel,"_** Obadiah spoke to the microphone, Rhodey whispered something on the bald man's ear but then he quickly smiled at the crowd as well before stepping aside.

 ** _"This is beautiful. Thank you. Thank you all very much. This is wonderful."_** He holds it up and stares at it for a moment before continuing, ** _"Well, I'm not Tony Stark."_**

The crowd laughs a bit before he keeps talking, ** _"But if I were Tony, I would tell you how honored I feel and what a joy it is to receive this very prestigious award. Tony, you know the best thing about Tony is also the worst thing; He's always working."_**

"Oh is daddy working? He said he would be there though," Primrose remarked, disappointment clear in her tone and expression.

Emma's face became sour, "Well, maybe something came up and he had to work on it." the blonde prompted, knowing that 'working' wasn't the real reason Tony missed the awards.

He's been back to the same routine for a few months now, it all started summer last year and Emma became tired of arguing with him about it, so she just started to avoid those type of conversations because Tony was still a good father, albeit being a little "forgetful" sometimes.

As Obadiah finished his speech, Primrose covered her mouth as a long yawn escaped her mouth, "Mommy, can you tell me a bedtime story?"

"Of course honey, what story do you want tonight?"

"How about we finish Harry Potter?" Primrose suggested quickly. After Obadiah gave her the first book on her birthday, Primrose has been begging her mother to buy everything related to the magical world. And the two have been reading all the books together, with Emma helping her daughter with some of the complicated words.

"Okay sweetie, go get cozy while I grab it."

"Thanks, mommy!"

After finishing the third book of the series, Emma noticed that Primrose had fallen asleep and that she'd been reading it to herself instead. Mildly embarrassed, she tucked her daughter in and turned off the light, leaving Primrose sleeping comfortably. But before she closed the door, Emma looked proudly at her baby girl, the feeling that she was safe and sound was enough to make Emma tear up.

An hour passed and Emma was pondering on finally going to bed as well when her cellphone vibrated. When she checked her message box, Emma almost rolled her eyes.

**From: Tony  
1:33 AM**

**'Tell Prim I'm sorry I didn't show up, I just didn't want to be there and see all those fake people eyeing me like hungry wolves.'**

Emma sighed and replied quickly.

**To: Tony  
1:34 AM**

**'I'll tell her that you had to work on something important, but you better compensate her.'**

She turned off the television and moved towards her entrance door, locking it in the process. She also turned on her security alarm and made sure to turn off the lights as she walked to her bedroom. When Emma placed her phone on the bedside table, she saw no reply from Tony yet. Shrugging, she put on her pajamas and got under the covers of her bed, where she cozily warmed up.

Then she turned off her lamp and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to consume her.

* * *

**February 12th  
Late afternoon**

While Primrose was busy drawing her newest sketch, her dad called her phone (a Stark phone was given to Primrose that only allowed her to call Tony, her godparents, the emergency lines and Emma. Tony called it the 'Prim Monitor').

"Hi, daddy!" Primrose greeted him happily.

_"Hey honey, how are you?"_

"I'm okay, daddy! I'm drawing something!" she replied enthusiastically.

 _"That's nice! Can't wait to see it! Daddy was just calling to apologize for not accepting the award like he told he was going to."_  his voice sounded remorseful on the other side.

But Primrose remained jovial like she had forgotten about it already, "It's okay, daddy! Are you in Afiganistan already?"

 _"Afghanistan, honey,"_ Tony quickly corrected with a small chuckle,  _"and no I'm in my airplane, on the way there with your grumpy, uncle Rhodey."_

"Let me guess, you're late," Primrose rested her head on her table, next to her pencils and sheet, "Uncle Rhodey take care of daddy!" she yelled at the phone.

Tony must've had it on speaker because her godfather replied.

 _"I'm trying baby girl, but you gotta help me."_  Rhodey told her with a loving tone,  _"And yes, you're right, your dad was late! Four hours late!"_  he informed her with a testy tone and Primrose giggled as she imagined the dirty look he was throwing at her dad.

 _"Why would you expose me like that?"_  Tony exclaimed, his tone playful.

"Dad, that's not good!" Primrose scolded lightly, feeling genuinely sorry for her godfather.

 _"Yeah, Tony, it's not good!"_  Rhodey parroted pettishly.

 _"All right uncle Rhodey, you're out,"_  Tony grumbled, and Primrose figured that he turned off the speaker button,  _"Anyways, I just wanted to call you and tell you that next week dad will take you out for dinner to compensate you. Anywhere you want."_

"Can we go to Chucky Cheese?" she asked innocently.

Tony sighed on the other side.

 _"Sure, we can go to Chucky Cheese,"_  he agreed as Primrose heard her uncle chortle in the background. She grinned.

"Yay! Thanks, daddy! Oh, by the way, did you wish aunt Pepper a happy birthday?" she asked quickly.

 _"Oh yeah, of course, how could I forget it? I said it as soon as I saw her."_  Her dad told her too quickly,  _"Anyways, I have to hang up now, okay? I'll call you again when the presentation is over."_

"But daddy, I might be asleep by then!" she warned him.

_"Oh yeah, I forgot about the timezones. I'll just call you when it's the next morning for you then, wish me luck?"_

"Good luck daddy!" she then kissed the phone, making Tony whine on the other side.

_"I love you kiddo."_

"I love you too."

* * *

**February 13th  
Afternoon**

Primrose woke up with a bad feeling today. It was a feeling that followed her wherever she went, even when she was drawing, during her lessons and when she was eating. It was like she had a tummy ache but worst, and she didn't know what it was.

She would later find out that it was called 'anxiety'.

Her homeschooling was done for the day, and Primrose was sitting on the couch watching television to see if there were news about her dad's presentation. He hasn't called yet and that was weird, because he promised he would.

Primrose tried to remain positive after all her daddy was amazing and nothing could go wrong with him. Her mommy said that thinking about bad things would make it worst, so being positive was the best thing she could do.

So, taking her mom's advice, Primrose decided to just watch cartoons instead of surfing through channel news. And for an hour, it worked, she felt better and lighter, even though whenever she stopped paying attention to the current cartoon her bad feeling came back.

And then it happened.

The house phone started ringing, and her the skin all over her body crawled. Primrose looked fearfully at the landline phone, scared of it, it was like the ringing sound was becoming louder and louder in her ears and she couldn't move from her frozen state.

Louise, her babysitter, picked up the phone while humming a merry tone. She had been busy preparing a sandwich for Primrose before, "Hello?"

Primrose watched her babysitter's face go from jolly to shocked in a second, "Ms. Evans, slow down I can't understand you!" she stammered as she tried to understand the voice on the other side.

Then Primrose ran to her bedroom and grabbed her blue bunny, resting on her bed between her pillows, and hug it close to her body. She then returned to the hallway and tried to listen to the phone call between Louise and her mom again.

"Okay... Ms. Evans, don't worry I will. I'll see you soon." Louise sounded and looked anxious when she hung up the phone on the wall again, "Prim?" she called out, not seeing the little girl on the couch like she previously had been.

"I'm here, is everything okay Louie?" the six-year-old asked nervously.

"I don't know honey, your mom will explain everything once she gets home," Louise told her with a small smile.

"...Mommy left work?" Primrose asked confusedly, she looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was still early for her mom to be leaving work.

Louise placed a head on her head and ruffled gently, "She did, now before she gets home let's get some food on your stomach, okay hon?"

"Okay..." Primrose acceded, although she had lost her appetite.

Just half-an-hour later, Primrose was inside her bedroom, lying on her bed and trying to colorize the drawing she had made of a flower when she heard the main door of the apartment open and close quickly.

She jumped out of her bed and scattered to find her mom, she found her with Louise in the kitchen and stood in the doorway with widened eyes.

"Thank you, Louise, you can go home now," Emma quickly stated as she placed her things on the kitchen's counter.

"Are you sure, Ms. Evans?" Louise prompted. Primrose noticed that her babysitter was already wearing her jacket and grabbing for her bag, ready to leave.

"Yes Louise, I'm sure. Please, leave," Emma stated firmly, taking notice of Primrose, "Prim sweetie, go sit on the couch and wait for me." she softly cooed, "Say goodbye to Louise first."

"Bye Louie" Primrose quietly said before she did what her mom told her to do.

"Bye hon, I'll see you tomorrow." Louise gently had said before she left.

Primrose had been waiting for her mom in the living room for five minutes now, and as the minutes passed the more nervous she became. When Emma finally returned from the kitchen and sat down next to her, her mom sat her on her lap and hugged her close, resting Primrose's head on her chest.

"Sweetie, I'm going to tell you something bad. But I need you to be strong, okay?" her mom began with a wavering voice.

How could Primrose remain strong if her mom's voice sounded like it was about to give in?

When Primrose didn't speak, probably out of fear, Emma continued, "Uncle Rhodey called and told me that dad went missing."

Primrose became even stiller, "What?"

Emma hugged her closer, "Honey, your dad is missing he was kidnapped."

The six-year-old understood that word, it's when someone is taken somewhere against their will. She was taught to beware of strangers because of that, especially because of who her father was.

"Prim? Oh sweetie, please say something!" Emma pressed her palm onto her daughter's cheek and gently turned her face towards her, "Prim?"

Primrose kept wanting to say something, but there was something preventing her from speaking. These new emotions made Primrose fearfully. She has never felt like this before. It was like a bad world she has been sheltered from collided into her, Primrose just had the biggest reality check she could ever receive.

Because she was reminded that there were bad people out there.

And they had her daddy.


	11. Daddy is Home - IM 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long chapter! Well, at least the longest in this story. There will be longer ones, I promise! I hope you enjoy this, and once again the transcript goes to Airbrushed and Marvel!

_A very pained looking Tony Stark was being held down. There's a brief view of cheap medical supplies; a hole carved in his chest and blood littering his torso. He's being held down as he lets out a chilling, anguished scream, the continuing despite his obvious pain._

_Something is being lowered into the gap of Tony's chest by a pair of gloved hands as someone holds a ragged cloth over the genius's face, whatever chemical was in it made Tony fall unconscious._

_The last thing he thought before blacking out was Primrose's face, calling for him._

* * *

**March  
Month Two**

It was eerily quiet inside the Stark Mansion.

The usual tinkering Pepper would hear her boss create was unheard of, and whenever she went downstairs tears would come up to her blue eyes to the sight of the usual booming floor empty and dark, with no music blasting on the speakers and with no Tony Stark to playfully banter with.

Once filled with Primrose's jubilant laughter of being chased by her father to get tickled, the hallways now seemed hollow and filled with painful memories that could now belong to a dead man.

The text messages and late phone calls that Tony and Emma would have, where he basically tried to act like he wasn't getting a therapy session from her, where the two would just talk for hours until one of them fell asleep during the conversation, that one usually being Emma, were now part of her phone's history. Emma would scroll and re-read the messages to the point where she reached the first text message they ever exchanged between each other. She would smile, but then she would cry.

Then a daughter, without her daddy, was tragically by far the worst part of the situation.

Primrose was in a depressive state, and while the little girl was too young to realize it, Emma knew the symptoms – she studied them. Her daughter has lost interest in drawing, Emma once saw her daughter sitting down on her drawing table inside her room, but all she saw was Primrose holding a red crayon and staring blankly at the paper for ten minutes before throwing it away and start sobbing.

Then the concerning part was that Primrose could hardly sleep more than three hours a day, refused to eat or drink and just wanted to be inside Tony's bedroom, on his bed. Emma and Pepper took measures to assure Prim's health, they would feed her and make sure the little girl would drink at least five cups of water per day.

Those tasks would usually end up with Primrose feeling agitated, and with another crying fit.

During these days, Primrose could be found lying on her father's bed, motionless and staring at the ceiling. Even JARVIS tried to help by proposing a movie night with 'Treasure Planet'. But Primrose barely acknowledged it.

Before Rhodey left to join Tony's search team, he promised Primrose he'd find her father and bring him home. She made him pinky swear, and Rhodey was not resting until he finds him.

As Primrose starts to lose weight, the world starts believing that Tony Stark is really dead. And everyone begins talking about the next successor for Stark Industries. Of course, that Primrose's name is brought up but if she would step in for her father as CEO, the world would have to wait at least thirteen years for that to happen.

Meanwhile, Obadiah continued running Stark Industries as usual, and on the last week of the month, he sent Primrose a bouquet of orange mocks with a pink teddy bear and a note saying 'be strong little girl' attached.

Both Emma and Primrose appreciated that. Primrose started taking that pink teddy bear with her everywhere.

—

_Men huddled around a fire for warmth before switching to the security surveillance, where Tony is shown laying on the cot with Yinsen standing over him. A moment or two passes before the genius stands, the new addition in his chest glowing with a bright, gentle, blue light, appearing larger than it actually is on the cheap cameras._

_Tony takes a few steps forward and both share a handshake that could almost pass for a high-five._

_A pair of dice is being rolled on a wooden board game, the two men gambling with silver bolts._

_"Good roll, good roll." Yinsen praises the billionaire, reaching for the dice to shake them in his hand for his own turn._

_"You still haven't told me where you're from," Tony mentions nonchalantly, lifting the lid off of a jar next to him._

_"I'm from a small town called Gulmira. It's actually a nice place."_

_"Got a family?"_

_"Yes, and I will see them when I leave here." Yinsen says, looking up from the board to face the billionaire, "And you, Stark?"_

_The two make eye contact for a brief moment before the genius looks down, taking his turn in their game before looking back up. He shrugs and replies with a quirk of his lips, "I have a little girl, she's six."_

_"So you're a man who has everything, money, family, and intelligence."_

_Tony's expression sours and his eyes regain the water coat he'd been able to avoid when he first woke up, "I like to think of myself as a man who had everything, was starting to ruin it but will get it back and never let it go once I return alive." He told the man._

_Because his daughter needed him, because he couldn't let something so traumatizing as loss of a parent happen to his little girl and because Tony Stark earned to be in Primrose's life – he was going to fight his way out of this hell and go back to his girl._

* * *

**Date: May 1st  
Month Three**

Primrose has been in a depressing mood for three months. And hope was slowly starting to abandon Emma about Tony's life.

Emma had to start feeding her to make sure her daughter would eat and the depression was getting to her as well. She missed Tony, she would cry when she was alone and pray for his safety – even though she wasn't as religious as her mother, she was desperate.

Pepper and even Happy tried everything to cheer up the little one when Emma couldn't. All Prim would say is that her daddy was going to have to make up the months he missed when he returns, which made everyone smile when she was trying to remain optimistic. But at the same time, everyone feared that if Tony was really dead, what would happen to Primrose's mentality.

* * *

_A faint circle of light can be seen emerging from the darkness of the cave before a full suit of armor is revealed, dangerous and unnerving. The Ten Rings men stagger backward a few steps but never back down. Instead, there's a shout of command, and every man begins firing at the metal suit at once. The armor becomes a bit unsteady with the force of the bullets, but Tony refuses to break or fall over._

_The men stop firing their weapons when they see how ineffective they actually are. The mechanic's eyes can be seen through the slits of the mask, showing nothing but determination and resentment._

_When the genius finally speaks up, his voice is low and threatening, "My turn."_

_Tony lifts his arms and flames begin to shoot out from his makeshift flame throwers. With the fire spreading rapidly, the men are only able to shoot once or twice before stepping back. They're screaming as the blaze engulfs them and their camp and Tony turns the flames towards their stockpile of his own weapons. He burns them all, setting fire to every crate stamped with his name, every gun, man, and missile._

_A man on higher ground crouches in front of a stronger, more powerful gun, firing quick, consistent shots at the metallic armor. The flames abruptly stop shooting from Tony's arms as the bullets ricochet from the metal. OMore men join in, shooting at the suit in rapid succession and with determination to put it down. One lucky bullet lands in the join of one of Tony's knees, making the armor go down as bullets still flew and the flames still spread around him._

_Tonys not done yet, even when he's down on his knees surrounded by flames he shoots another stream of fire, causing the crate near one shooter to explode, with bullets still bouncing off the metal of the suit. Some of the explosives start to go off because of the fire and the men just outside the blaze start retreating._

_Inside the mess of explosions and flames, Tony finally gets up on his feet, flipping a red switch on the inside of his left arm, it sends another blast that starts a chain reaction of every explosive around the area._

_The suit bursts through the rising smoke and flame, veering away from the camp. The boosters in the armor abruptly stop, making Tony shout as he falls out of the sky, bits of the suit plumbing everywhere._

_He crashlands in the sand, the armor effectively falling apart and scattered. He lets out a pained grunt, just half armored. He shakes off the mess of wires and metal that remains on the arms, before flipping off the face mask and throwing it aside._

_Tony Stark is bloody and dirty and no doubt in pain with fresh blood staining his lips, but that doesn't stop him from looking impressed, "Not bad."_

_Minutes later and he's walking through the desert, jacket draped over his head to block the unforgiving heat of the sun, his arms covered with blood and bruises and his pants torn. Though the arc reactor still glows through his dark green wife beater._

_As the billionaire is walking up a sand dune, the faint sound of an engine can be heard, confusing him, before a helicopter rises over the horizon, followed by a second._

_Tony looks up before he starts shouting and flaring his good arm, "HEY!"_

_He keeps urgently shouting until the helicopter lands, laughing like a maniac as he falls to his knees, he raises the fingers of his raised arm to form a peace sign before weakly letting it fall to his side again. A group of men rushes out of the chopper, a familiar face runs faster, ahead of the group._

_Rhodey's face reveals ease mixed with concern for his long-lost friend, "How was the fun-vee?" he quips._

_Tony lets out a forced laugh, relief flooding his features as Rhodey kneels down in front of him and rests a hand on his shoulder._

_"Next time you ride with me, okay?" Rhodey's voice is shaky and almost cracks, but when he gathers Tony in a firm hug, Tony leans into him, allowing his friend to support him._

_"I want to see her, I want to see my baby," Tony whispers weakly in Rhodey's ear._

_"I got you Tones, you'll see her soon."_

* * *

**May 3rd**

Primrose is at the airport with Pepper and Emma when a US Air Force plane is landing. Pepper and Emma were waiting outside with Happy behind them, near the car. Pepper's makeup is running and her eyes were red and puffy and Emma couldn't stop smiling.

Yesterday Primrose came back to life when Rhodey called to inform them that Tony had been found alive. The little one regained her appetite almost immediately and went to sleep early because she wanted to wake up fast to go see her daddy.

The ramp in the back of the plane opens and Primrose doesn't waste any time because as soon as she sees him, she is running to her dad. Rhodey is standing next to Tony, who gets up from his wheelchair, allowing his friend to support him as they walk down the ramp. He lets go of Tony when they're on the tarmac.

He watched as Tony falls to his knees and catch his daughter's hug and both start crying immediately.

"D-Daddy!" Primrose sobbed as she buried her face into his neck, "Daddy! You're home!" her body was shaking earnestly from longing his presence again.

"Prim, I'm so sorry baby girl, I'm so, so sorry! I'm here, it's okay. It's over." he softly whispered as he kissed her forehead, her temple and tried pulling her as closely as he could. Tony grimaced when he noticed how much skinnier Primrose looked, he needed to fix that, "Baby we need to get up okay? I need you to hold my hand and stay near me. Don't leave me," finally smelling her shampoo again, it almost made him cry.

Everyone smiled at the exchange as the two rose to their feet and held hands as they made their way to Pepper and Emma. Rhodey started crying at finally bringing his best friend home, reuniting him with his daughter, where Tony belongs, but it's clear he's doing his best to hide it. Pepper smiles when she sees her boss approaching and Emma cringes worryingly at his appearance.

Tony's arm is in a sling and his face is cut up in a few places but has cleaned up and freshly shaven.

"Watch it, coming up here," Rhodes instructs the billionaire and his daughter, gesturing to the ramp.

Men stroll up with a gurney, but Tony dismisses them quickly, "Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them." He keeps his hand firmly connected with Primrose's, who confusedly looks at the gurney being taken away, Rhodey still stays close by as Tony approaches Pepper and Emma.

"Your eyes are red," He notes, holding his chin high, "A few tears for your long-lost boss and baby-father?" he eyes both women.

"Tears of joy, I hate job hunting." Pepper retorted emotionally.

"And I don't know how I would survive without your child support." Emma jokes, catching a tear from the corner of her eye before it could fall.

"Yeah, vacations over and honey even if I was dead you'd have money to last you a lifetime."

They all enter the car and sit down, Happy in the driver seat, Tony and Pepper in back with Primrose sitting on Tony's lap as he continues to cling to her, and Emma sitting next to Happy, in the front.

"Where to, Sir?" Happy asks.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper answers, but Tony immediately refuses.

"No."

"No?!" Emma exclaims with Pepper.

"No is a complete answer."

"Tony you have to go to the hospital. The doctor has to look at you." Pepper states, giving him a worrying look.

"Pepper's right, you need to get checked. Not only physically but also emo–"

Tony cuts Emma quickly, "I don't have to do anything," He glances over at Pepper and she stops talking as well, albeit unimpressed.

"I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger and the other"

"That's enough of that," Pepper cuts him off, pointing at Primrose with her eyes as Emma glared at him.

"It's not what you think," He continues, "I want you to call for a press conference now."

"Call for a press conference?" Pepper asks, completely exasperated already.

"Yeah."

"What on earth for?"

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first." He instructs Happy, "I'm also getting my favorite girl a cheeseburger. Or anything she wants." Tony added as he kissed the top of Primrose's head, who was just snuggled closer to his chest, ignoring all the adult conversation and just happy that her daddy was back. She made a weird face though because she couldn't stop hearing a whirring sound coming from her dad.

They ended up going to Burger King, and then after watching Tony order six cheeseburgers, Happy pulls the car up outside where the press conference is being held. The journalists waiting outside clap and cheer when they recognize the car and Obadiah is revealed, running up to the car and opening the door for Tony.

"Look at this! Tony." He hugs the billionaire once he steps out of the car. When he pulls away he places both hands on Tony's shoulders, "We were going to meet at the hospital."

"No, I'm fine." He insists as Happy comes around the back of the vehicle, holding out a Burger King bag. Tony reaches inside and pulls out a burger and then helps Primrose out of the car, once again grabbing her hand.

"Look at you," Obie continues, "You had to have a burger, yeah?" Obadiah then grinned at Primrose, "Did he gave you one?"

She nods, happy.

"Well, come on." They start walking towards the door together, Obadiah's hand on his shoulder.

"You get me one of those?" The older man asks, gesturing to the sandwich.

"Uh, there's only one left. I need it." Tony replied, winking at his daughter.

They're walking down a hall just as Tony finishes his burger, he pauses and turns back to Emma and Pepper.

"Stay with your mom now, I'll be right back." He tells the brunette, and Primrose nods as she grabs her mom's hand, staying behind with Pepper and her to watch her father explain why he summoned a press conference.

Cameras are flashing and people are shouting inquires while Tony makes his way to the podium. From the corner of her eyes, Primrose sees a man approaching Pepper.

"Miss Potts?"

"Yes?" Pepper says distractedly.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"I'm not part of the press conference," She explains, gesturing to the crowd of reporters, "but its about to begin right now."

"I'm not a reporter. I'm agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Linguistics Division." He clarifies as he hands her a card.

Emma, hearing this conversation alongside Primrose, raises her eyebrow in a skeptical manner at this man, while Primrose just awes at him.

"That's quite a mouthful," Pepper comments, reaching for the card.

"I know. We're working on it." Phil acknowledges, he briefly makes eye-contact with Primrose before looking back at Pepper.

"You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA" the P.A begins to inform.

"Were a separate division with a more specific focus," He cuts her off. "We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" she ends up saying, wanting for him to just leave.

"Thank you." He nods, giving her a genuine tight-lipped smile before walking away. Both women turn their attention to the press conference while Primrose watches Phil until he leaves. She thought he looked scary at first but when she saw him smile Primrose decided that he couldn't be a bad person.

Obadiah is standing at the podium trying to settle down the crowd. He glances down, the camera following his gaze to reveal Tony sitting on the ground, leaning against the stand and pulling a hidden burger out of his pocket.

"Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down? Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can a little less formal, and" Tony pauses to take a bite of his cheeseburger.

"What's with the love-in?" Rhodey asks as he sits beside Pepper.

"Don't look at me. I don't know what he's up to," she replied.

"Maybe daddy's legs are tired?" Primrose suggested, finding her seat on the floor comfortable.

"Good to see you," Tony glances away from his food and at Obadiah, who is seated beside him with a neutral smile.

"Good to see you." The older says, putting his hand on the billionaire's shoulder.

"I never got to say goodbye to dad," he quietly told him, "I never got to say goodbye to my father," Tony repeats, a bit louder this time as he addresses the reporters. "There are questions I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels." His face is suddenly very serious, and he appears as if he staring off into nothing, lost in his own memories, "I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

A reporter hesitantly raises his hand, "Mr. Stark!"

"Hey, Ben." he greets him nonchalantly.

"What happened over there?" the young man asks, making the golden question every reporter wanted to know.

Tony stands now, walking around the podium, "I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world, than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International,"

It was all chaotic from there, Emma immediately got up and brought Primrose with her as all of the reporters stand up at once, each one shouting questions and demanding answers.

Obadiah stands with them, approaching Tony on the podium and laying a hand on his shoulder, trying to move him away from the microphone, but the billionaire continues stubbornly.

"Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well."

Obadiah steps in front of the microphone, having finally succeeded in shooing the genius away, "What we should take away from this, is that Tonys back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion, and well get back to you with a follow-up." he quickly addresses the journalists and reporters with a happy smile.

"What is he thinking?!" Emma exclaimed at Pepper, the two women had shocked expression on their faces.

"I don't know?" Pepper replied.

Primrose was mostly confused, all she wanted to do was run to her father and hug him tightly. She didn't care about what he said, she could barely understand it! Getting upset, Primrose let go of her mom's hand and ran back to her father, who saw her coming and placed a hand on her back when she hugged his legs.

"Ms. Evans-Stark! How do you feel about having your dad back?" a reporter asked as soon as she noticed the little girl. Almost every reporter seemed to have their attention of Primrose now, for Obadiah's relief.

She shyly looked at the reporter, who was smiling kindly at her and replied, "I love my daddy, I'm so happy he's home. I never wanna see him go away again."

* * *

**May 4th**

Emma returned to New York, leaving Primrose behind with Tony since it was technically the start of his week with her. Tony and Emma hugged each other for a long time when they were finally alone, he cried in her arms and she comforted him as best as she could. They decided to talk about how could Tony compensate the weeks he missed another day, what Tony needed was resting.

On the first night of Tony's return, Primrose slept on his bed. The two cuddled, snuggling to each other as best as they could and Tony almost felt like having his daughter close to him was therapeutical – it didn't stop him from having nightmares though.

He woke up early but stayed in bed for almost half an hour staring at his daughter, sleeping peacefully while nestling just under his good arm. He felt warm and didn't want to leave the bed, but his mind was set on starting his new project.

Hours later, when Primrose woke up she wasn't amused when her dad was gone. She practically ran out of the bedroom, screaming his name and scared that his return had been a hopeful dream. When JARVIS told her he was at his shop, she almost fell down the stairs as she scattered there and bumped into the glassed walls. Tony was concerned about her forehead after she hit the glass but mainly apologized for leaving her and promised that he was home and he was never going to leave her again.

Hours passed, Primrose and Pepper were both watching a show called Mad Money, along with Stark Industries (SIA). The man on the show was having a blast about making fun of what happened yesterday, Primrose frowned as she hugged her blue bunny close to her.

 _"Stark Industries! I've got one recommendation! Ready? Ready?"_  He reaches for a button beside him and the words  _"Sell, sell, sell!"_  appear over the speakers,  _"Abandon ship! Does the Hindenburg ring any bells?"_  the man continues.

Primrose looks at Pepper and sees her godmother with an annoyed and exasperated face.

 _"Let me show you the new Stark Industries business plan!"_  The man grabs a bat, swinging it at a mug on the table in front of him. It cracks instantly, sending a loud crashing sound through the speakers.

Pepper and Primrose wince but keep watching with Pepper pursing her lips.

"Crazy," Prim mumbles.

_"Look! That's a weapons company, that doesn't make weapons!"_

_"Pepper, how big are your hands?"_ Tony's voice is suddenly heard.

The strawberry blonde leans over the television's touchpad control on the table, muting the television.

"What?" Pepper says, not listening to what he said the first time.

 _"How big are your hands?"_  He repeats.

Pepper and Primrose exchange a confused look.

"I don't understand why" Her voice is edged with confusion, but Tony cuts her off.

 _"Get down here. I need you."_  There's a sense of urgency to his tone, so inevitably she concedes.

When Primrose is starting to stand up from the couch to follow Pepper when her dad speaks again.

"Oh, and if Prim is with you tell her to not come here. I only want you."

Primrose frowns, "But daddy–"

 _"No buts, please honey, stay there,"_  Tony begs, using a gentle tone.

"Primrose if your father wants you to stay here then it must be something he doesn't want you to see. I'll be back in a minute okay? You can change the channel if you want to." Pepper tells her with a smile.

"Fine," Primrose conceded with a pout.

"Thank you," she cooed before leaving the room.

The six-year-old sighed when she was alone, "JARVIS?"

_"Yes, miss?"_

"Can you put Disney Channel on?" she requested while moving the limbs of her bunny.

 _"Of course,"_  the A.I obeyed as the television went from the annoying man making fun of her dad to 'Phineas and Ferb'.


	12. The Calm Before the Storm - IM 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fact: June 4th is my birthday!

**Primrose's Age: Six years and eight months old.  
Date: June 4th, 2008**

Primrose started summer vacation, and even though she was behind on her school work, with the help of her tutors she was able to catch up and pass every subject with a good grade. The reason why Primrose had been behind her school was that her father was kidnapped just three months ago.

It was the fortnight after his return, and with his injuries healed Primrose started drawing again to show how much she missed him. All she did was draw her dad in many ways and Tony just started placing them all over his bedroom's walls. He didn't care whoever would comment on it.

Primrose was most excited about spending the month with her dad, the whole month! Her mom and dad decided that for the next three years (this one counting as the first one), Primrose could choose which month she wanted to fully spend with her dad for him to be able to compensate the weeks he missed while kidnapped.

Today, her dad was taking to see uncle Rhodey. It was good for her because her dad has been spending some of his time inside his shop whenever he wasn't with her. It was a bit strange that he didn't allow her inside the shop but Primrose didn't mind, as long as he was nearby she was content.

"Daddy, why are we visiting uncle Rhodey at his job?" Primrose asked as she walked hand-in-hand with Tony.

The two were walking on the U.S Air Force Base tarmac, with Happy waiting behind on the car, Primrose was barely containing herself from skipping instead of walking normally, she wanted to be a good girl and behave around the soldiers and make her daddy proud.

"I want to talk with him about something, isn't this jet cool though?" Tony asked her nonchalantly as he tried to change the subject.

"Yeah!" she replied, excitedly.

When they walk inside the hangar, a familiar voice is heard just a plane is being rolled up. Primrose sees a group of people all dressed in simple green Air Force uniforms following her uncle on something like a tour.

"The future of air combat, is it manned or unmanned?" Rhodey is revealed, leading the group of young men through the building, past the rows of jets as he speaks, "I'll tell you, in my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilots instinct, his insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious and discern its outcome, or a pilots judgment."

"Colonel?" Tony cuts him off before he can continue any further, everyone turns to look at him and Primrose in surprise, "Why not a pilot without the plane?" he asks, adding to Rhodey's speech.

"Look who fell out of the sky, Mr. Tony Stark," Rhodey supplies to the group as his friend walks up, shaking the hand of the nearest man, "And he brought along his cute daughter," he turns to the group with a proud smile, "My goddaughter." Rhodey ruffles her hair affectionately, earning a small giggle from her.

"Hi, uncle Rhodey!" Primrose greets happily.

"Speaking of manned or unmanned, you gotta get him to tell you about the time he guessed wrong at spring break. Just remember that; spring break, 1987." He turns to Rhodey now, "That lovely lady you woke up with-"

"Don't do that!" He interjects his tone not far off from that of a warning, "Did you forget Prim is here?!"

"What was his name?" Tony continued, confusing Primrose.

The group laughs at that as Rhodey continues to protest.

"Don't do that."

"Was it Ivan?" Tony questions with a sly grin.

"Who's Ivan?" Primrose asks, look between her dad and her uncle.

"Don't do that. They'll believe it. Look at your daughter! Don't do that." He repeats, giving his friend an exasperated smile with a shake of his head.

"That totally happened, by the way," Tony commented as if it were just common knowledge, "Honey, uncle Rhodey made a friend named Ivan–"

"Stop it, Tony!" Rhodey exclaims.

"Okay," The billionaire concedes as he turns to face the group, "Pleasure meeting you."

"Give us a couple of minutes, you guys," The Colonel states, the group starting to turn away as he moves to face Tony. "I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"I swear I didn't expect to see you walking around so soon."

"Daddy is not hurt anymore." Primrose states as she hugs his legs, Tony automatically places a hand on her head and starts patting her gently. Rhodey just smiles at her.

"Yeah, I'm doing a little better than walking," Tony states with a smug grin.

Rhodey crosses his arms and gives his friend a questionable, if not slightly wary look, "Really?"

"Yeah. Rhodey, I'm working on something big," He elaborates, raising an eyebrow, "I came to talk to you. I want you to be a part of it."

Rhodey allows a small smile to creep past his lips, "You're about to make a whole lot of people around here really happy, cause that little stunt at the press conference, that was a doozy," He states with a hint of a laugh and the shake of his head.

Primrose wonders if her dad was talking about his secret project that he didn't let her see.

Tony noticeably hesitates for a minute, trying to find the right words, "This is not for the military. I'm not" He shakes his head, earning him a curious glare from Rhodes, "Its different."

The Colonel furrows his brows, "What? You're a humanitarian now or something?" he tried not to sound too harsh for Primrose's sake, but he was starting to get impatient.

"I need you to listen to me-"

"No," Rhodey cuts him off, "What you need, is time, to get your mind right. Spend some time with your daughter, God knows how much she missed you."

Tony offers a tight-lipped smile, but the hurt is obvious in his features as his friend continues. Primrose looks up at her dad with visible concern on her expression.

"I'm serious," Rhodey adds.

"Okay," Its barely a whisper, accompanied by a short nod from the billionaire before his face falls altogether.

"It's nice seeing you, Tony, take care baby girl," Rhodey says, more softly towards Primrose as he ruffles her hair again, he was clearly done having this discussion as he begins walking away.

"Thanks," The billionaire says, so quietly almost anyone would have missed it. His gaze is far off is friend leaves him.

"Are you okay, daddy?" Primrose asks meekly, not liking seeing him like this.

He quickly recovers as he smiles down at her, "I'm fine, honey, let's go. The visit is over." he grabs her hand and the two started walking away from the hangar.

"But daddy–"

"Do you want some ice cream? Because I want some ice cream." he cut her off, looking into the distance, "Lots of it."

She frowned at him, "Sure daddy I want some ice cream." Primrose didn't know why her dad looked so sad, but over the years she learned that he didn't like talking about why he was sad. He would just change the subject quickly and Primrose learned to go with it. When she asked her mom about it, she simply said that her dad was a 'complicated person' but not to worry about it much.

Primrose, however, worried all the time.

* * *

**June 8th**

_Primrose is humming a merry melody as she uses her blue bunny to play in an imaginary world that only she can see. She laughs as she makes plane noises, seeing her bunny fly around. She is inside Tony's workshop, running around and pretending, playing happily as a child should._

_Then suddenly she bumps into a table and cries in surprise when a robotic hand falls from it and crashes on the floor, breaking in pieces._

_Tony suddenly walks inside his workshop, his eyes widen at the sight of his project broken around his daughter, and as he approaches Primrose, the little girl recoils with a fearful expression._

_"Primrose! What are you doing here?! Haven't I told you that I don't want you near my workplace?!" he yells at her, face red with anger._

_"B-But–"_

_"Look at this mess! You ruined everything!" he yelled, pointing at the broken hand._

_Primrose hugs her bunny close to her, as if to protect her, and tears up, "I'm sorry daddy, I was just playing!" she cries._

_"You know you're not supposed to play here! It's the rules! JARVIS, take her away from here!" he yells at the ceiling, but the AI doesn't answer._

_Tony, instead of being confused to why his butler isn't talking back, hears his daughter fully sobbing at this point. He goes to her, placing his hands on her shoulder, and starts shaking her._

_"STOP CRYING! STARKS DON'T CRY! YOU'RE BEING WEAK!"_

_"D-Daddy stop it!" Primrose begs, dropping her bunny because of the shaking._

_"You're too much work! I'll just have to send you to that school, you left me no choice."_

_Tony looks at her, the scene around him suddenly changes and now he's inside Howard's workshop._

_"You need more discipline,_ _**Tony** _ _," he tells her, coldly and calculating._

Tony suddenly rose up from his bed, sweat beads sliding down his forehead as he tried to regain control of his breathing again.

"JARVIS, lights," he orders out of breath, hands shoving the thin blankets out of his body.

His lamps are instantly turned on, and he looks around frantically. He was inside his bedroom, "JARVIS, what's the time?"

 _"It is currently twenty-two past four in the morning, sir. Is everything okay?"_ the A.I asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." For the first time, he didn't have nightmares about Afganistan. However, he didn't feel like celebrating. Tony rather have nightmares about his kidnapping than about treating his daughter like that.

He didn't know how to feel about this one though, did he subconsciously feel guilty about not being around Primrose these past days? He's been so immersed with his suit project that he didn't see the hours of each day pass by.

Tony got up from his bed, not feeling like sleeping anymore, and walked straight to his daughter's bedroom to check on her. He had a proud dad moment when he saw Primrose sleeping peacefully, hugging her blue bunny close to her. Tony decided to tuck her in and plant a kiss on her head.

Tony's nightmare was that he had become her Howard. His cold, calculating father that has been distant all his childhood. He wasn't like Howard, for almost seven years he's been a loving, attentive father that patiently listened to his daughter's babbling and conversations without sense. Right?

The billionaire was sure that if he was doing something wrong, someone would tell him. His father didn't have many friends, only work friends and Obadiah was the only one Tony remembers visiting them and actually staying for dinner. Still, Tony had good friends and even though Obadiah didn't tell Howard that he could've been more loving towards his son, times were different now and Tony hoped that if he ever hurts Primrose in any way without realizing it – his friends would tell him.

Primrose was the most important person in his life, but he also had other people he wanted to protect. Like Pepper, who he has realized he loves. Emma, his best friend, and mother of his daughter. Rhodey, even though he shut him out days ago the colonel was the closest to a brother Tony had. And even Happy was starting to really grow on Tony.

These people were important to him.

Tony decided to go back to bed and try to sleep to save strength for the rest of the day, he wanted to spend it all with his daughter.

* * *

**10:33 AM**

When Primrose woke up, she remained in her bed for at least ten minutes, stretching and snuggling close to her blankets, before she finally got up and started her day. Like a big girl she was, Primrose already showered by herself and brushed her own teeth.

Of course, she'd eat breakfast first, it didn't make any sense to brush her teeth and then eat. So she showered and choose her clothes: a lavender with floral-print dress paired with a pink bomber jacket and on her feet she chose a pair of white converses. She decided to let her below shoulder brown hair down, mainly because she had no idea how to do a ponytail or a braid on her own.

Happy, she smiling at the body mirror attached to her closet and decided to go see if her dad was awake for both of them to have breakfast.

Primrose was used to the halls of her dad's big house, what she loved the most as she walked on them was looking outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the ocean. It was so pretty, the sunset hour was her favorite time of the day. It was when the sky showed different hues of colors that inspired the little rising artist to experiment with colors on her own.

She walked down the stairs and started hearing music coming from the kitchen.

"Good morning JARVIS!" she called out, following the music.

 _"Good morning Ms. Evans-Stark, your father is currently in the kitchen, burning your supposed bacon."_  The A.I greeted, already answering the question the little girl asked every time she'd wake up.

"Thanks!"

Truth to JARVIS's words, when Primrose entered the kitchen she gasped at the black smog coming out of the frying pan her dad was currently hitting with a dry kitchen cloth.

"Stupid bacon, stupid pan, I swear to God I'll fu–"

 _"Sir, I advise you to hold your tongue since your child is present in the room."_ JARVIS quickly inputted.

"Prim!" Tony exclaims, "Aw baby, you're supposed to be asleep it's early!" he says as Primrose walks up to him, she has this amused expression on his face that makes her look older.

"Dad. It's almost eleven." she states, eyeing the burnet frying pan curiously, "Yummy, we're having coal and ashes for breakfast?" she licks her lips jokingly, earning a playful glare from her dad.

"Very funny," Tony widens his tired eyes and checks the time on his very expensive looking gold watch, "Damn it is almost eleven. I thought it was eight."

"Daddy, what time did you wake up?" Primrose asks, sounding a little concerned.

That was something Tony hated doing to his daughter, worrying her. So he put up his best smile and said: "Just an hour ago, I slept pretty well. How about you?" He placed a hand on her hair and felt it a little wet, "Oh you took a shower?"

She nodded proudly, "I told you I could do it now! I'm a big girl!"

Tony gave her a half-tipped smile, on one hand, he was proud but at the same time, he didn't like that she was growing up quickly.

"Sure you are. Tell you what big girl, since I pretty much created a new black color with bacon I'll let you choose where'll have breakfast, or well, brunch."

* * *

**12:30 PM**

They ended up going to a brunch place called Fanny's, it was small but homey and Tony was actually enjoying his time, there weren't many people here, only other families taking their kids out for brunch that seemed more interested in themselves other than Tony Stark and his daughter.

There were a few glances that Tony pretended to not see, he was just glad these people, the waiters and owners included, respected his privacy.

Tony was hungry, he ended up ordering a Turkey B.A.L.T, which is a turkey sandwich with roasted turkey, bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato and mayo, four deviled eggs, a side of fries and to drink an iced coffee. Primrose ordered a chicken burger with fries, a slice of peanut butter chocolate pie for dessert and to drink a Lipton Peach Iced Tea.

As they ate, Tony couldn't help to look at a certain table where a mother, a father and their son sat at. The boy looked to be older than Primrose, probably ten years old, enjoying his time and happily eating his pancakes. Tony couldn't help to see himself, which was odd because his parents never took him out for brunch, the only times they went out to eat was when his father needed to make a good impression on someone and Tony never enjoyed it.

At least he had his mom. Had.

Seeing that boy brought memories he'd buried a long time ago, so when Primrose looked at her dad to ask him a question about straws, she held her voice when she saw his haunted expression.

Not knowing what to do, Primrose simply followed his eyes and looked at the table with the family as well. Confused, she finally decided to speak up as she tugged at her dad's shirt to get his attention, "Daddy? Are you okay?" she asked timidly.

Tony's body jolted as he was suddenly brought back to reality, eyes-widened he glanced at his daughter and let out a weak chuckle that sounded like he's just been scared by a friend and then realized it was a joke, "Prim! Wow, don't do that sweetie. You scared daddy's blue out of his jeans."

She couldn't help but chortle at his choice of words as he sipped on his iced coffee.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking about you," he stated, leaning back on his chair to give her a look. He was going for an obvious fake scowl, and when she tried not to smile at him Tony knew he was doing it, "I'm serious, very serious."

Playing along, like she was used to, Primrose said: "Oh no daddy, what did I do now?"

"You're growing up. I told you not to do that, remember? I specifically ordered you, didn't I?" he scolded her lightly, still trying to hold his scowl.

Primrose started giggling as she swung her legs underneath the table, "It's human biology daddy, I can't stop it."

He gasped, "Human biology? How much do you understand about that?" Now that he was getting nervous about another certain subject, his fake scowl dropped into a genuine nervous one. He was not ready, not at all.

"Duh!" she rolled her eyes, "Humans grow up because of evolution. Our DNA just tells our body what to do."

"That's somehow true. And, nothing else? Not about certain curiosities?" he was mentally screaming at himself to shut up before his curious daughter asked what he was talking about.

"No, is there anything else?"

"Eat your fries, honey."

After they ate everything, Tony paid for his bill and he also told the waitress that he was paying for everything on the table with the family he saw. They left the place and Tony rode back home, happy that he bonded more with Primrose and had a good time with her.

—

**June 25th**

Primrose was sitting on her special television room, lying on the carpet with art supplies all splattered around her, working on her latest project as 'Planet Treasure' played as a background sound – even when Primrose occasionally said some of her favorite lines along as she drew.

The month was almost over and soon she'd return to New York. It's been almost a month and Primrose had to admit that she missed the city noise and going to the park to see her friends with her mom. Primrose wondered if her friends even remembered her, they've been so busy with school that they rarely saw each other during the school year.

Primrose hoped they haven't forgotten.

As she focused on finishing the last building, she looked at the line art of her work and smiled, she was satisfied with her drawing of New York City, now all she had to do was color it. When Primrose was thinking about how many hues the sky would have, she heard someone knock on the door of the room, startling her a little.

Expecting her dad or Pepper, Primrose was surprised to see Obadiah. She changed her position and sat on the carpet instead, smiling at him, "Hi, uncle Obie!"

The charming greet made Obadiah smile, "Hello kiddo, sorry to interrupt. Just passed by to say goodbye."

"You were here?" she asked, confusedly.

He nodded, "I came here to talk with your father, but I'm leaving now," he paused as he glanced down at her work, "Ah, another masterpiece from our artist?"

Primrose blushed, "I'm not done yet! You can't look!" she protectively hugged the paper to herself, earning a chuckle from the bald man.

"Don't worry I won't look. But I'm sure it's good. Starks are always geniuses when it comes to something, your father and grandfather are technology tinkers. You, well, are not."

That made Primrose's happy expression drop.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Obadiah quickly adds, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel sad about it. It just means that maybe you weren't made to be one."

"One?"

"I don't know, your dad probably has to find another heir to carry on with his legacy if you're not interested in his work. How will the company continue if their CEO doesn't even know the basics? Your dad was able to make a circuit board when he was four, what did you do?" he smiled at her, but Primrose was started to feel uncomfortable.

"I don't know," she replied, looking down at her drawing. Now, after hearing Obadiah, her drawing seemed to be the ugliest thing she has ever drawn. She no longer was proud of her work, all she wanted to do is trash it.

"Well," Obadiah seemed satisfied, "Don't think about it too much kiddo, I'm just an old man after all. Maybe you'll start tinkering soon, you might be a late bloomer," he ruffled her hair, but Primrose didn't move, "Goodbye Prim, see you another day." he didn't wait for her to reply as he left the room.

She dwelled on Obadiah's words for a moment, and all she could feel was an emptiness in her heart. What if Obie was right? Is she going to ruin her dad's industries? Scowling, she was about to rip her New York drawing when a sudden part of a scene from her favorite movie stopped her.

**_"Now, you listen to me, James Hawkins. You got the makings of greatness in you, but you got to take the helm and chart your own course. Stick to it, no matter the squalls! And when the time comes you get the chance to really test the cut of your sails and show what you're made of! Well, I hope I'm there, catching some of the light coming off you that day."_ **

Coincidence or not, Silver's speech (and one of Primrose's favorite parts of the movie) seemed to have brought motivation back to the six-year-old. Her expression showed determination, so when she looked back at her drawing, she decided that she did like it – and she was going to color it in an amazing way, show it to her dad and mom, and continue on with many other drawings.

Obadiah was right, Starks are geniuses. So if she was going to be one, she was going to choose at what.


	13. Robot Dad - IM 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay, I haven't been feeling well these past days. Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> EDIT: It seems like I made a mistake with the timeline and well, we skipped Primrose's seventh birthday. So sorry guys, but don't worry she'll have more ahead :)

**Primrose's age: Seven years and one month old.**  
**Date: November 15th, 2008**  
**Location: Malibu, Californi** **a**

The now assembled framework of the Iron Man arm, with Tony's arm resting inside of it as he closes the frame over his forearm and biceps, the wires running from his arc reactor to the arm, giving it the power it needs to work. The billionaire was making a few tweaks with his tool, glancing over his shoulder when he suddenly noticed Pepper as she keys her way into the lab, he quickly notices a box with a coffee mug atop resting in her hand before he turns back to his work.

"Up two alright, set that," he mumbled.

"I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?" The strawberry blonde inquires as she makes her way further into the workshop, her voice already exasperated.

Tony, obviously not paying attention, begins to answer, "Yeah everything what?"

Not surprised by the genius attention span, Pepper simply sets the box and coffee on one of the workbenches as she answers, "Obadiah upstairs. And how long have you left Prim by herself? She looked sad when we arrived, Obadiah started playing the piano to cheer her up."

Tony felt a little tug in his heart, "Great-"

"What would you like me to tell him?" Pepper cut him off, "Are you going up to see your daughter?"

"Great," He repeats before answering her question, "I'll be right up." Tony places his free hand beneath the armor framework and lifts it up as gently as he can, grunting slightly, "Okay."

Pepper seems to take notice of what he's doing now, taking a few steps closer and fixing him with a glare, "I thought you said you were done making weapons?"

"Not a weapon," Tony corrects matter-of-factly.

"It isn't," He states with a roll of his shoulder, "This is a flight stabilizer," He explains as he reaches forward and presses a button on the table. There's a faint whirring sound as he reassures her, "Its completely harmless." Just then, the stabilizer activates, shooting out from his palm and sending the mad genius flying back into a shelf.

Pepper winces and covers her ears at the sound of tools and supplies crashing and clattering to the ground, before turning back to stare at the genius as he gives his weak explanation.

"I didn't expect that."

Obadiah is playing the piano as Tony makes his way up the stairs from his workshop. There's an expensive looking statue sitting to the right of the steps, with a glass divider that has a stream of water flowing down it just behind it. The billionaire is free of the armor framework and the harness that had been around the arc reactor. He's left with blue jeans a light grey T-shirt covered in oil stains with a hole cut from the center, displaying the reactor.

"Daddy, what was that noise?" Primrose immediately asks, looking at him with a startled expression as she sat down on the modern couch nearby the piano.

"Nothing darling," he quickly replies, "How'd it go?" Tony questions Obadiah as he makes his way further into the room.

The bald man only spares a glance at the genius before he returns to playing.

Pepper is seated on the couch, next to Primrose, surrounded by papers and typing on her laptop. The little girl was surrounded by papers as well, but hers included drawings.

The pizza box on the table catches Tony's eye, "It went that bad, huh?" he then looked at his daughter, "Have you had some?" he quickly added.

She nodded, smiling. Tony was satisfied.

"Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad," The older man states, his gaze never leaving the keys as he continues his playing.

Primrose wonders where he went to buy the pizza, maybe she knew.

"Uh huh, sure doesn't," Tony states sarcastically as he opened the lid of the box, "Oh boy," He sighs happily as he reaches for a piece.

"It would have gone better if you were there," Obadiah states once he's finished playing, reaching for his drink instead.

"Nuh uh," the billionaire mumbles through a bite of pizza as he glances over at his business partner, who is now rising from the piano bench, "You told me to lay low, that's what I've been doing," the mechanic reasons, snagging a napkin and waving it around as he speaks, "I lay low and you take care of all" He trails off, wiping his mouth with the napkin.

"Hey, come on," Obadiah interrupts him as he makes his way over to the genius, "In public, the press. This was a board of directors meeting," He states simply as he takes a seat next to Tony.

That seems to catch Tony's attention, as he turns to Obadiah with a slightly surprised expression, "This was this was a board of directors meeting?"

Tony continues eating his pizza as the older man begins to explain, speaking as if Tony were a child, "The board is claiming you have post-traumatic stress. They're filing an injunction."

"A what?" Tony questions disbelievingly. Primrose was looking at them, listening and worrying about her dad at the same time.

"They want to lock you out."

"Why? Because the stocks dipped forty points? We knew that was going to happen," Tony says, pointing an accusing finger at his partner.

"Fifty-six and a half," Pepper corrects him.

"Is that bad?" Primrose whispers at her.

Pepper sadly nods at her.

"It doesn't matter," Tony argues, his voice rising just slightly as he turns to look at Pepper, "We own the controlling interest in the company."

"Tony, the board has rights, too," Obadiah points out, drawing the billionaires attention back to him, "They're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest."

"I'm being responsible! That's a new direction for me and my daughter. For the company,"

Tony counters between bites at Obies open-mouthed, incredulous stare, he struggles a bit with the words and makes haste to correct himself, "I mean, me on the company's behalf, being responsible for the way that"

Pepper sighs, giving him an equally exasperated stare before he finally gives up, "Oh, this great." Tony stands abruptly and snags the pizza box.

"Oh, come on. Tony. Tony." Obie calls after him before taking a quick sip of his drink.

"I'll be in the shop," the annoyed mechanic supplies as he makes away with the pizza, "Primrose I'll tuck you in soon." he quickly adds.

She doesn't doubt that. Even when he's busy with his secret project her dad always tucks her in.

"Hey, hey! Hey, Tony, listen," Obadiah says as he gets up and follows the genius, grabbing his shoulder and turning him to face him, "I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them."

Obadiah points to the arc reactor poking through the hole cut in Tony's shirt, before continuing, "Let me have the engineers analyze that. You know, draw up some specs."

"No," Tony immediately declines, much to Obadiah's displeasure, "No, absolutely not."

"It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!" He argues, raising his voice.

"This one stays with me. That's it, Obie. Forget it." Tony says, effectively ending the discussion as he resumes walking away.

"Alright, well this stays with me, then," Obadiah snags the pizza box from the genius, opening up the lid, "Go on, here you can have a piece. Take two."

"Thank you," Tony states simply, his hand reaching into the frame to snatch the slices.

"You mind if I come down there and see what is you're doing?" The older man calls after the retreating genius.

"Good night, Obie."

The man turns to look at Pepper and the two shared a tired look, he then looks at Primrose and smiles.

"You want the rest, kid?" he asks her.

Still affected by the conversation they had about the company's future, Primrose was somehow uncomfortable with Obadiah. She shook her head and politely refused.

* * *

**November 15h**

"Not the car, not the car! Yikes!" it's what Primrose hears as she sneaks down the stairs to her dad's workshop. She was tired of feeling lonely, so the brunette finally decided to go downstairs and see what her dad was giving the attention that she craved for. Turns out, the response was shocking.

"Table!" her dad continues as she watches him propelling a path over the vehicles and over one of his desks, sending papers flying around the room. She was awed to see him fly, he was wearing some sort of rocket boots! Or at least that's what she thought they were.

As he approaches the wall, her dad throws his hands out in front of him to stop the forward motion. It sends him back the way he came, the hand repulsors flickering once or twice, Primrose, however, had no idea what they were called, she'd have to ask her dad about them.

She hears him give a sort of hysteric, nervous laughter as he moves over the table again, yelling out reassurances to himself, "Could be worse! Could be worse, were fine! Okay!"

Is he? Primrose descended the stairs even more, without being noticed.

He flies back to the starting point, finally starting to get a hang of the motions. The billionaire brings his hands to his sides, careful to keep his palms down, and pulls his legs together. She watched him do a slight spin as he slowly makes his descent. The repulsors cut out and he lets himself fall the remainder of the short distance, the boots sparking as he hits the ground and stumbles to find his balance.

Primrose's mouth was shaped like a little 'o', and she could not close it.

He lets out an exhilarating sigh, turning back to face Dummy, who is raising his head, ready to do his job as fire safety.

Her dad holds up his hand, "NO, ah ah ah ah!" the bots gives a sad whir and lowers his head, "Yeah, I can fly." he states to no one, but Primrose feels like he just told her, leaving her even more shocked.

Tony steps forward, once again wearing the repulsor boots. This time, though, a set of robot arms come from the front and back and attach a silver covering around the framework. A joint is being screwed in at the elbow, locking the armor into place.

"Dad is a robot!" Primrose squeals quietly, trying to remain hidden.

An armor-clad hand reaches forward and snags the mask of the suit, bringing it closer to the billionaires face, "JARVIS, you there?"

The faceplate is attached, and the eye slits glow a pale blue as the AI responds,  _"At your service, Sir."_

Tonys face is seen from the view inside the helmet, the HUD scanning his facial features and lighting up with information, "Engage heads up display."

Primrose can't get inside the workshop, she's too short to reach the keypad but now she doesn't even care if she's caught. Leaning onto the glassed windows, she stares at her dad with utter fascination. She watches him stay still for a moment, he's probably talking with JARVIS inside the helmet.

Jarvis voice cuts in,  _"Test complete; preparing to power down and begin diagnostics."_

There was another silent moment from her dad, and Primrose leaned her ear into the glass as if she could hear what they were talking about.

 _"Sir,"_  Jarvis somehow worried voice responds from the speakers on the ceiling,  _"there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is–"_

"Jarvis," Tony cuts him off, sounding like a parent lecturing his child, "Sometimes you gotta run, before you can walk." Primrose hears her father say.

"Ready?" Tony straightens up inside the suit, his feet moving closer together and his hands palm down at his sides, "In three, two, one."

The repulsor boots come to life, instantly lifting the genius a half a foot off the ground. He's a bit unsteady, but leans forward nonetheless, the mechanics of the suit whirring as he shoots forwards and out the garage ramp, skimming the cement of the exit with an exhilarating yell that fades into a crazed laugh.

Primrose was left behind, staring at the exit where her dad flew out.

"JARVIS! Let me in!" she calls out immediately.

_"I'm not sure if I should, Miss."_

"You didn't tell my daddy I was here, so please let me in I won't touch anything!"

 _"Miss, it's best you go to bed and not mention this to your father."_ JARVIS replies,  _"Shall I inform him that you are out of bed?"_

"But! But! Is he okay?!" she exclaims, going up the stairs in defeat.

_"Your father is fine, now if you excuse me I have to concentrate on him. Sleep well."_

Then she suddenly has an idea before she could look frustrated. She runs to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and looks up at the sky, "Where are you daddy?" she mumbles to herself as her brown eyes focus. "AH!" she exclaims as she spots a flying, bright light zooming away quickly. It had to be him, and she could not believe how high he was. He was going to high that Primrose might've thought her daddy had become a real rocket ship.

He went so high that she stopped seeing him when he passed a barrier of clouds.

Seconds passed and she became anxious, where was he? Primrose then noticed a dark figure falling from the clouds from where her dad had gone up, the figure was falling fast, towards the ground, and when Primrose realized that the figure might be her dad she started sobbing when he didn't slow down.

"Fly daddy! Fly!" she cried, hitting the window in a desperate attempt to be heard.

And then, just when he was about to really hit the ground and when Primrose let out a scared scream, she saw her daddy pull up and fly again, making her cheer and jump excitedly. She saw him coming towards the house, soaring over the ocean as he approaches, shooting a little higher into the air to get to the roof. He hovers over it, the armor swaying back and forth before he manages to steady it.

Primrose quickly goes back downstairs again, wanting answers from her dad at once. She squeaked when she was stepping down in the middle of the staircase when a loud, crashing noise was heard, and to her horror, she saw her daddy dropping through the ceiling of his workshop, right on top of one of his very expensive cars. She blinked at him and slowly started to walk down the stairs again.

"JARVIS, please let me in," she calmly asks the A.I, and this time he silently obeys, opening the workshop's door for her.

The car alarms were going off and her dad remained in his crash spot atop his demolished vehicle. Dummy helpfully turns to face him, spraying him with the fire extinguisher, his creator leaning his head back in either pain or exasperation at his incompetent bot.

"Daddy" she begins, approaching him.

Tony lets out a groan, "Prim?"

"Are you a robot?"

She could've asked if he was okay.

* * *

**Hours later**

Primrose had brought her daddy an icepack as quickly as she could as Tony got himself out of the suit, and now they were both staring at each other, an icepack being pressed to his head. Primrose is sitting on a stool by one of the counters, watching him as he averted his eyes from her to kick aside a creeper without much thought, startling his daughter.

"Sorry honey, daddy is just frustrated." he apologized quickly, regretting kicking the thing out of anger.

"It's okay daddy… are you okay? You fell pretty fast."

He let out a tired sigh, "You were watching me?"

Primrose nodded, "I saw you here daddy, and then you flew and I could see you from afar. You fell fast, it was scary." she crossed her arms on the counter and rested her head there, giving him a worried look.

Tony feels guilty. First, he doesn't spend as much time with Primrose as he promised he would and now he had scared her because of his impulsive nature and for ignoring JARVIS's warning about the ice problem. He could've died and his daughter could've seen it.

"I'm so sorry sweetie, come here," he beckoned gently as his eyes followed her small body when she hopped out of the stool and walked towards him. With enough strength, he wrapped an arm around her torso and hugged her closely, "Sorry for not telling you about my little project. And sorry about being a reckless dad." Tony planted a kiss on top of her head, making her whine and cling to him further.

"Promise me you won't keep more secrets daddy, I miss you. You're here all the time and JARVIS won't let me in," she mumbled into his chest, ignoring the arc reactor.

Tony paused for a moment, his jaw tensing as he thought seriously before speaking, "JARVIS?" he called out.

"Yes, sir?"

"From now on, Primrose is allowed inside my shop. But only if I'm inside as well, you got that?"

"Certainly sir, Miss Evan-Stark's fingerprints have been added to the code pad."

Tony looked down and saw his daughter give him the sweetest smile as she stopped hiding her face on his chest.

"Thank you, daddy…" she whispered happily.

He smiled down at her and kissed her head again. When he made a movement to stand up, she stopped hugging him and returned to sitting down on the previous stool again. He made his way towards the mug of coffee left atop a box, previously left by Pepper. He grabs the coffee and continues his walk forward when Primrose's voice stops his tracks.

"You should open that, daddy, Pepper gave it to you. It's rude not to accept it." she scolded him lightly, referring to the box.

Furrowing his brow in curiosity, he removes the ice pack from his head and looks back at the box, "Yeah, you're right." he states.

There's nothing special about it. It's just simple and brown, with a sticky note attached to the top. He turns back, setting his coffee and ice aside. He then reads the note, written neatly in blue, and tosses it aside as he begins tearing the brown wrapping. Primrose curiously leans in.

Tony finally pulls it away, revealing a glass display case with the original arc reactor displayed proudly within. He picks it up almost gingerly, the gentle humming of the machinery audible even through the glass as he reads the words engraved on the ring surrounding the blue glow.

'Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.'

The man himself eyes the gift with a bit of fondness, the corner of his lips quirking up just the slightest bit.

"That's nice of her," Primrose tells him as she grins at the glass display.

 

 


	14. Daddy is Iron Man! - IM 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is by far the longest chapter I've ever written! And look, I managed to finish Iron Man!
> 
> Hope you like it!
> 
> PS: Go read the last chapter, I made a few mistakes that were fixed and I added some writing towards the end of the chapter!

**Primrose's age: Seven years and one month old.**  
**Date: Monday, November 17th, 2008**  
**Location: Hunters Point, Queens**

Emma was home from work and Primrose was done with her homework, today it had been a sluggish Monday for both women but it had been productive as well. Louise left thirty minutes ago, leaving a nice tuna casserole behind for dinner – Emma always appreciated Primrose's babysitter cooking for them, because when it came to that all Emma could do was order food from a restaurant or make an omelet.

Emma was watching the news as her daughter sat on the floor, the habit that Primrose had was to sit everywhere but on a chair whenever she started drawing, by the coffee table with her art supplies scattered all over as she drew.

The psychologist was now twenty-nine-years-old and she could not believe how long it has been since her life changed, and she was just four years away from receiving her Ph.D. Her parents were very proud that her daughter had succeeded so much while parenting at the same time. Emma was thankful that Primrose wasn't a difficult child, her daughter was well-behaved and she rarely fussed.

The only concern Emma had about Primrose was that she was hiding something, ever since she came back from Tony's her daughter acts the same, even talks the same but it's easy for Emma to see that she's also hiding something. She tried not to pry it out of her, Emma's plan was to bring it up naturally as if she was nonchalant about it.

 _"The 15-mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into hell, into a modern-day Heart of Darkness."_ Emma paid attention to the television since she's been following this article for a week now,  _"Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords emboldened by a new-found power."_ the female reporter keeps talking as people behind her walked tiredly with their belongings on their backs.

Primrose stopped drawing and paid attention as well.

 _"Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude dwellings they can find in the ruins of other villages, or here in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant."_ Emma frowned sadly at the sight of the children walking among their parents, she couldn't help but look at her baby girl and be thankful that they were both safe.

The sudden sound of gunfire from the TV draws her attention back to it, the monitor shows terrorists running around with guns, firing off shots as the land around them smokes.

"Oh no" Primrose gasps, "That's horrible."

Emma thinks for a moment if letting her daughter see this is good parenting, after all, it's worst to shield your child to the horrors of the world, "Yes it is, sweetie."

 _"Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals as the Ten Rings."_ The blonde tenses at that, that group was the same group that kidnapped Tony! Emma's eyes go dark as she watches the camera zoom in on a chubby man smoking and glaring into the camera. The next shot they show is of a Jericho missile, while men bustle around it loading crates into vehicles.  _"As you can see, these men are heavily armed, and on a mission - a mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way."_

_"With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees. Around me, a woman, begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents either forced to join their militia"_

Emma had enough, she changed the channel and ignored the look her daughter gave.

"Hey, remember when I told you there was this new movie I wanted to see? About that musical?" the blonde asked.

"Mamma mia?" Primrose replied, unsure.

"Wanna go see it? Then we can go out for dinner."

"But Ms. Lou made a cass–"

"We can eat it tomorrow. Don't you want to see the movie?" Emma chuckled, trying not to look obviously forceful. She just wanted to get out of the house.

Primrose stayed still for a moment, before smiling at her mom and nodding, "Okay! I'll go get my jacket!" she rose from the floor and ran to her bedroom down the hall.

"Don't forget your coat, it might rain!" Emma called out as she sighed tiredly, this world may be going to shit but she would be damned if she wasn't going to protect her baby from it as long as she could, they already suffered enough nine months ago when Tony was kidnapped.

As she waited for her daughter to get ready, her phone started buzzing. It was Tony so she picked up quickly.

"Hey, Ton–"

 _"If Obadiah calls you, don't pick up. Do me a favor and don't let Prim talk with him either."_  Tony said in a rush, his voice was a little distorted.

"Tony, where are you? Are you driving and using your phone at the same time?" Emma scolded.

 _"No Em, it's complicated. Just do what I told you okay. You were right, there was a reason why you couldn't like him. He's hiding something from me, and it's shady. I don't want you or Prim to talk with him, okay?"_  he repeats, his voice serious.

"Did something happen?" she asked, scowling at the television as if it was Obadiah, "Tony, did he hurt you?"

_"Emotionally? Yes. And I can't prove anything yet but until then I don't want you–"_

"Yes I get it, you don't want me or Prim to talk with him. You got it," she assured him quickly.

_"Good, thanks. I gotta go, send my love to Prim."_

"Wait, Tony!"

He hung up before she could finish saying his name. She was about to call him back when Primrose's voice startled her.

"Is everything okay, mommy?"

She was already buttoning her coat when she asked that, Emma couldn't help to think how cute she looked.

"Yeah, daddy called just to tell me that he loves you and that he misses you." It wasn't exactly a lie, but there were some things you had to keep from a child. Especially when Primrose liked Obadiah.

Primrose giggled cutely as she swung her legs back and front, "He's silly. It's only been three days and we talked last night!"

Emma chuckled, "He just loves you a lot. You ready to go?" she asked as she made her way to the entrance to grab her own coat from the rack.

"Yep!"

* * *

**November 24th  
Monday**

Primrose was downstairs on her dad's shop while he worked on his suit, she decided that now that the suit had colors, she wanted to draw it. She liked the red a gold, it suited her dad very much. As he worked and teched around, something that Primrose didn't understand, she happily drew the suit by sitting on one of the counters.

Tony, albeit tense, couldn't help but smile at her once in a while as he worked. She looked so small and cute, and the way her tongue stuck out as she concentrated was adorable.

There were sudden footsteps, and both Starks looked up to see Pepper approaching the area.

"Hey," he said as soon as he saw her, "You busy? Mind if I send you on an errand?"

Peppers hands were on her hips as she walked up to one of Tony's work surfaces. Before looking at him, she smiled weakly at Primrose and the seven-year-old smiled back, it was clear that her godmother was tense about something.

"I need you to go to my office," Tony went on, not waiting for her answer, "You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests," He walked over to the tabletop and picked up a small jump drive, which he handed to Pepper, "Its probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."

Primrose gulped dryly, this looked like a mission from one of her favorite shows, 'Kim Possible', but she knew this was real life – so it was serious.

Pepper looked sharply at Tony. He had walked away and stood in front of his desktop computer, scrutinizing the design, "And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" she asked.

"Same drill," said Tony quickly, "They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them." he stated.

Primrose noticed her father looking at her, she decided to look down at her drawing and let the adults talk.

"Tony," Pepper said as she laughed without mirth, "you know that I would help you with anything, but –" Her face hardened, "I cannot help you if you are going to start all of this again. I mean, think about Prim!"

"I am thinking about her! There is nothing except this," said Tony, "There is no art opening, there is no benefit, there is nothing to sign," He turned to her, and his face was grim. "There is the next mission, and nothing else."

"That so?" Pepper jabbed, looking keenly into his face. "Well then, I quit." She threw the jump drive down on the table, and she turned and walked away.

Primrose wanted to say something, she knew her godmother would come back to at least say goodbye to her but she didn't want Pepper to quit her job! Primrose notices things, she knows her daddy is happier when Pepper is around, she notices that he likes to banter with her and he likes when Pepper scolds him about eating and sleeping properly. Primrose knows this because Tony does the same to her, and he does it because he loves her! So Primrose noticed that her dad might like Pepper like that. Love was very complicated to Primrose, she was only seven years old so she didn't understand it. She watched a lot of cartoon characters kiss and be boyfriend and girlfriend and all she could think about was how sweet it was. But she didn't understand it, however, she did know that her daddy loved Pepper! She notices things, she watches them.

She doesn't want Pepper to leave her daddy! He needs her!

"You stood by my side all those years while I reaped the benefits of destruction," Tony began quietly, if he was shocked about her statement his stony face didn't show it, Pepper stopped her tracks and turned around in the doorway, "And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harms way, you're going to walk out?"

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony," Pepper told him sadly, "I'm not going to be a part of it. You need to think about your daughter, she already almost lost you once." her blue eyes were watery, showing how much she cared about the two Starks.

Primrose couldn't help to get emotional as well, this was all too much for a child. She got off from the stool by the counter and slowly made her way to her father.

"I shouldn't be alive," Tony declared, turning away from Pepper and sitting down. "Unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do." He looked back at her, his eyes full of conviction. "And I know in my heart that its right." when he felt Primrose place her small hand over his own, he immediately pulled her closer, allowing his daughter to stand between his legs as her head rested under his chin.

Primrose had no idea what was happening. But whatever it was, scared her.

Pepper was still staring at him, and then at her goddaughter, she blew out her breath in a long sigh and then, after a moment, she came back to the table and picked up the jump drive. "You and Prim are all I have too, you know," she stated dutifully.

"I love you, Pepper," Primrose said without thinking, she just thought it was right.

Pepper watery eyes finally allowed a tear to slide down as a weak chuckle came out of her lips, "I love you too, sweetheart."

Tony kissed the top of his daughter's head, a habit he now had. It was the best one so far.

* * *

**Later, in the evening**

After the dramatic talk inside his shop, Tony decided that it was time for Primrose to go to bed. Both went to her bedroom and while Primrose changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth, Tony looked at the ocean through her daughter's bedroom floor-to-ceiling windows and thought about how dangerous it was to send Pepper by herself, but at the same time, he couldn't be seen in public just yet because of Obadiah.

When he heard Primrose turn off the lights from her own private bathroom attached to her bedroom, he smiled at the way she ran quickly to her bed, hopping on it with a giggle.

"Cold?" he asked as he watched the brunette get under the duvets and covers, snuggling closer to them.

"A little bit," she replied shyly.

"JARVIS, up the temperature a little bit please," Tony ordered softly to the A.I as he sat down on her bed.

_"Right away, sir."_

"Daddy, are you going to sleep too?" she asked, smiling as Tony pressed his palm into her cheek, he brushed his thumb over her skin affectionately and shook his head.

"No, I'm going to wait until Pepper comes back or tells me something," he stated, smiling.

"Good! Then I'll stay up too–"

"No way kiddo, you're sleeping. It's almost past your bedtime. Good try, though." he snickered when she gave him a small pout, "Now sleep, I'll see you in the morning." He pressed a kiss on her forehead and pulled the covers up to her neck, tucking her in.

"Goodnight daddy," she whispered sleepily.

He walked up from her bed and made his way to the doorway, "Goodnight Prim," he whispered back as he turned off the lights, leaving the galaxy nightlight glow on her ceiling.

After he closed her door, Tony went downstairs and walked into his lounge just as his cell phone rang. He looked around, and then picked it up when he saw Pepper's ID showing on the screen.

He flipped open the phone and put it to his ear,  _"Tony?"_  came Peppers voice through it, and at the same instant a high, buzzing whine sounded in the room as a small device appeared beside his head, making his face turn blue and veiny and unable to move or breathe.

Obadiah suddenly appeared, pulling the phone out of Tony's hand and quickly hanging up the call. He eased Tonys head onto the back of the couch, "Breathe," he crooned, "Easy, easy."

Tonys reddening eyes followed Obadiah's hand as he tried to keep breathing and Obadiah held up the little device before his eyes when Tony finally laid back on the couch, "You remember this one, right?" he casually said as he clicked it off. "It's a shame the government didn't approve. There are so many applications for causing short-term paralysis."

Obadiah got up and came round the couch and pulled Tonys head around so that he was looking straight up into his face, "Ah, Tony," he said as he began to pull the little blue protective plugs from his ears, "When I, ah, ordered the hit on you –" Obadiah briefly leaned aside and reached into a bag for a tool as he spoke, "I worried that I was killing the golden goose."

Primrose suddenly felt thirsty, she decided to get out of bed and go get a glass of water.

The bald man put the tool over Tony's shirt where the Arc Reactor clearly glowed through the fabric, "But you see, it was just fate that you survived then." He bluntly punched the handle, and the tool poked through Tony's shirt straight to the Arc Reactor underneath, making Tony gasp and choke in pain as the Arc Reactor was pulled from its socket.

"You had one last golden egg to give," said Obadiah, his face lit up in the Arc Reactors glow. He leaned forward over Tony, the short cable dangling into the socket. "Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?" he asked gingerly.

As she descended the stairs, she heard a voice that didn't belong to her dad, but it was familiar altogether. From the staircase, she decided to peak down and lost her voice at the sight of Obadiah leaning over her daddy with his arc reactor in hand. She didn't know why or how but something inside her head snapped at her to get down and to shut up. So she did, she got down and started crawling back upstairs, mentally hoping that JARVIS was already calling for help.

She didn't understand why Obie was doing this, why was he suddenly bad? Maybe she saw it wrong, maybe he was helping her dad. Then why was she shaking with fear? As she slowly ascended to not cause any noise, she continued hearing the one-sided conversation.

"Your father – he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?" Then, with a jerk, Obadiah yanked the cable up, the magnet dangling at the end of it. Primrose cringed at the sound, that definitely wasn't him helping her father.

The thief held up the glowing object and marveled at it before looking in the eyes of its creator, "Oh, it's beautiful!" he breathed, turning it over in his hand. "Oh, Tony! This is your Ninth Symphony." He sat down beside her dad, still holding the Arc Reactor aloft. "Oh, what a masterpiece!" he said. "Look at that! This is your legacy! A new generation of weapons, with this at its heart!"

Tony choked and gasped, blood starting to leak from the ear, his body was clearly fighting to keep him alive.

"Weapons that will help steer the world back on course," continued Obadiah, "Put the balance of power in our hands – the right hands." he leaned over and stowed the Arc Reactor away in a small case. "I wish you could see my prototype," he said, smiling down at the genius. "It's not as. . . conservative. .as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would've preferred that she lived..."

Primrose couldn't help it, she let out a whine that echoed enough to be heard downstairs, making Tony jolt and Obadiah look up sharply.

"Ah, speaking about legacies," he mumbled as he made his way over the staircase.

At this point, Tony let out an internal but furious yell, making Obadiah stop walking and look at the genius mildly impressed.

"You're not supposed to be able to make a sound," he chuckled dryly, "You keep surprising me kid."

Primrose took the distraction to run upstairs, instead of going to her bedroom she ran towards the opposite way in the hall and entered the last bathroom just before her father's master bedroom, the one the visitors usually used. Thinking quickly, and without turning the lights on, she heard Obadiah already stepping on the floor she was in. Controlling her breathing, she entered the linen closet and slowly slide the door closed. It was dark and scary inside, but the adrenaline on the little girl's body made her cover the fear she had from the dark, with her small body she was able to hide her body behind a few towels.

And then she waited.

She heard his footsteps going on another direction, maybe to her bedroom. Obadiah probably thought she'd go there, to hide under the bed or inside her closet. That was what Primrose was going to do, but for some reason, her mind changed and she decided this hiding spot instead. Maybe it was because every time she played hide and seek with her uncle Rhodey or her father they'd always find her easily in her bedroom – it was her favorite place in the house.

"Prim? Can you hear me? You have to come out of your hiding place or else I'm going to hurt you when I find you by myself." Obadiah's voice was slightly distant.

She covered her mouth when his footsteps started to come her way.

The sliding door had a small gap open, letting the light from the hall inside. She could hear him getting closer, and Primrose tried not to let the panic settle in as tears started to form in her eyes. Her daddy was probably dying downstairs, he needed that shiny thing, the arc reactor, to keep him alive! How could Obadiah do this to them? He was like an uncle to her!

"Primrose, I don't have time for this! Come out now!" he yelled angrily, kicking a jar that had been in the hall down, breaking it and probably making a mess because of the dirt inside.

She remained still, concentrating on hearing him.

"You know what, you brat, I don't have time for this. When I'm done killing Pepper and her little government friend, I'll come back and kill you. And Prim? No hard feelings kid, I kinda liked you but I can't have another Stark take over my rightful place in the future, not again. I'll say hello to your bitch mother as well, don't worry about it." Obadiah sneered as Primrose heard his footsteps walk away.

She heard him walk down the stairs, but she still stayed put. This could be a trap. She counted to fifty before coming out of her hiding spot and quickly ran downstairs.

"Daddy!" she screamed after stepping out from the last step, "D-Daddy!" scattering into the lounge, she saw her dad, obviously clinging to life, flinging himself into an elevator. She followed him quickly and helped him get inside.

"Baby" he chocked out, crying immediately after seeing that she was okay. He thought Obadiah had done it, that he had killed her silently upstairs and then leave as if nothing happened. He was ready to go hunt him down and kill him painfully if he did do, but there she was, like an angel, alive and well.

She sobbed loudly and tried to keep him steady as the elevator took them down to his shop. When the door opened, he steadied himself against the edge before hauling himself over the threshold, every move clearly a terrible effort. Primrose tried to help him but she was smaller and weaker than he was!

"Daddy stop! What do you want?!" she exclaimed as she watched him push himself forward, his hand just managed to push open the door to the garage.

Tony fell to the floor and began to crawl. Bit by bit, he made his way to the table on which sat the Arc Reactor, Primrose could only follow him anxiously, trying to realize what he was doing.

"Try to speak, please!" she pleaded, uncomfortable whenever he chocked and gasped. She hated those sounds! He needed to stop making those sounds! It made her stomach feel churn.

He pulled himself up on a plastic bin and stretched up his arm as far as he could. His hand came just short of reaching the glass case before he fell back down to the floor.

She squeaked, finally realizing what he needed! Making he way over there, she was about to grab it when a robotic arm appeared, grabbing the Arc Reactor in its claw. Tony reached up for the case and looked up at Dum-E, who gave a little-concerned click, Primrose looked with awe at it, and then she sobbed even more as she hugged it.

"Good boy," Tony praised weakly, and he dashed the case against the floor.

Primrose felt downright useless right now, why couldn't she just grab the thing and save her dad? She was glad Dum-E was a robot that could remain calm in a situation like this, her hands were still shaking as she went from hugging the robot to get on her knees next to her dad.

"I'm sorry daddy, I'm so stupid"

"Tony?" Primrose squeaked, fearing that Obadiah was back, but that voiced sounded familiar, "Tony? Tony!" it was Rhodey!

"UNCLE RHODEY, DOWN HERE!" she yelled as loud as she could.

"PRIM?!" Rhodey tore down the stairs and into the workshop, and there lay Tony on the floor, doubled over next to the shattered glass, with Prim by his side with wet cheeks from crying. His heart sank immediately.

"Tony!" cried Rhodey in alarm, rushing over to him and turning him gently over. "Tony, you okay?" he looked at Primrose, "Baby girl you need to tell me quickly if you're okay, did something happened?"

Tonys color was already better, though not yet good, and the Arc Reactor gleamed in its socket as he gripped Rhodey's arm. "Wheres Pepper?" he rasped out.

"She's fine," Rhodey stated, "Shes with five agents, they're about to arrest Obadiah."

"That's not going to be enough," Tony grimly stated as he tried to regain some of his strength back.

"Uncle Rhodey, he's bad! He tried to kill daddy and he told me he was going to kill me and mommy too!" she sobbed out to her godfather, making the colonel quickly wrap his arms around her, making shushing sounds.

"Relax baby, no one is going to hurt you or your mom." he gently guaranteed as he rocked her.

"Prim, you're not stupid." Tony suddenly said.

"Huh?" she sniffed, cleaning some of her dripping snot with her pajama sleeve.

"You told me you were stupid, you're not. You were able to hide from Obadiah, I bet you were scared but you still hid well. You're not stupid, that was very smart of you." Tony said earnestly, staring into her eyes, "I'm proud of you."

She started sobbing again, and Rhodey patted her head, "Good job baby, I'm proud too." he then looked at Tony when Primrose was busy crying into his chest, "He came for her?" he lip-talked to Tony to avoid Primrose listening.

The genius nodded, his eyes dark.

"He's so dead," Rhodey confirmed, there's no way that fucker was going to get again with almost killing his brother and his goddaughter.

After Primrose calmed down, Rhodey sat her down on one of the stools and Tony and he started planning on the next step. She watched her father putting on his own suit with Rhodey looking on in wonder.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen," her godfather stated in awe.

"Not bad, huh?" said onscreen Tony, and then, presumably to JARVIS, "Let's do it."

He aimed a ray from his hand at the nearest of his cars, the one hed crushed in the fall after his first flight, and sent it flying away from him. Primrose flinched a little, but she still remained calm in the presence of her dad and godfather.

Satisfied, Tony turned back to Rhodey.

"You need me to do anything else?" he asked.

Tonys mask went down. "Keep the skies clear," he stated before looking at his daughter, "And protect Prim," and then he powered up and zoomed up through the hole in the ceiling and into the night sky.

"Damn!" said Rhodey, staring up after Tony, and then he turned to look at the Mk II, unpainted but still impressive-looking. "Next time, baby!" he said, "Let's go, Prim,"

"Where are we going?" Primrose said as she jumped out of the stool to follow him.

"We're keeping the skies clear." he stated as he opened the door of one of her dad's car for her, "Put on your seatbelt, please," he ordered gently as he closed the door when she was inside, then he swung himself into the car and sped away when he was sure Prim was secure.

* * *

Rhodey rode as fast as he could towards the Airforce, all Primrose could think about was her dad and Pepper, was she okay? Was he fighting Obadiah?

"Everything is going to be okay," Rhodey told her as he parked the car. They both exited it and he had to carry her to be faster and she didn't mind, Primrose felt like her legs weren't working well enough for her to run, perhaps it was the adrenaline wearing out but she was starting to feel weak.

She was starting to black out, but then she became wide awake when Rhodey entered some kind of command center room. He gently placed her down on a bench near the door.

"Sir, you're not going to believe this," said a young private sitting in front of the screen. "That thing is back!"

"Get me, Major Allen," said his superior, "Scramble the jets."

The private picked up the phone by his desk, but a hand came down and prevented him. "Not necessary, people," said Rhodey, looking around the room. "Just a training exercise."

"Yes, sir," mumbled the young man, staring up at the Colonel and putting down the phone.

Primrose closed her eyes, "Uncle Rhodey? I feel tired" she mumbled before her vision darkened, the last thing she recalls is Rhodey making her way towards and yelling her name with a startled expression.

* * *

**Hours later**

"...rose?"

She heard that it was far but she heard it.

"Primrose? Honey, open your eyes."

The seven-year-old followed the voice and saw a light beckoning her and when she touched it she saw her dad's face, smiling at her.

"There she is, I told you it was past your bedtime." he joked weakly, Primrose squinted her eyes but noticed that his face was injured all over, with scratches and bruises, it looked like it hurt.

"Daddy" she croaked, feeling her throat dry, "I'm thirsty." Primrose didn't mean to say that, but she couldn't even speak properly.

"Can we get some water here?" a different voice ordered, and that's when Primrose felt the space she was in shake a little bit.

Tony, out of his iron suit, helped Primrose sit down and the little girl finally saw where she was: inside an ambulance. By her side was her dad, and next to him was Pepper, who was smiling at her with teary eyes filled with relief. In front of her was her uncle Rhodey, and next to him was a man that looked familiar to Primrose, but at the same time, she couldn't remember where she had met him.

The man himself grabbed a water bottle that someone gave him from the seats in the front, after closing the partition on the ambulance he smiled at Primrose and gave her the bottle.

"Here you go,"

Primrose looked at Tony for confirmation, and when her dad nodded she took the water bottler and opened it, starting to gulp down the liquid inside quickly.

"You might not remember me, it's been six months since we last saw each other after all. I'm Agent Coulson, you're Primrose Evans-Stark. Nice to meet you." he stated, offering her a lopsided smile.

"He's giving us a ride in a fake ambulance," Tony stated casually, patting her head.

She was intrigued, but at the same time, she had different questions, "Where's Obadiah? Are you okay? Did anyone get hurt?"

"Wow, slow down honey. All in time, right now all you need is to drink that water and calm down. It's all over, everything's going to be okay." Tony quickly assured, "Save your questions for later, right now we just want to make sure that you're okay and that you rest."

She didn't reply back, all Primrose did was nod, sit back and continue drinking her water as everyone looked around each other with tired, but relieved expressions.

"Are you okay, Pepper?" she asked between sips.

"I'm fine, sweetheart, and I'm glad you're okay too. I heard you were able to win a dangerous hide and seek game against Obadiah, I'm so proud of you." Pepper said through tears, reaching to grab the little girl's hand as Tony moved back into his seat to allow it.

Primrose nodded, "It was scary but my body was telling me what to do! It was like, it wasn't as scary as it could've been!"

Rhodey clicked his tongue, "That's called adrenaline baby girl, it sharpens your focus, it decreases your body's ability to feel pain and gives you a temporary strength." he explained as best as he could.

Primrose's eyes widened, "I became a temporary super-hero?!" she squeaked out, making everyone chuckle. Even Coulson couldn't help to smirk a little.

"No honey, every human being has it. It's responsible for the fight-or-flight reaction to a threat, it's a human instinct. What kept us alive all these years." Tony continued.

"Oh, I get it" Primrose mumbled, feeling thirsty again. But then, like she'd been zapped with a shock device, she turned to her dad, "Is mommy okay?!" she asked urgently, "Obadiah said he'd go for her too!"

"Your mom is fine, she's on her way here," Tony assured her quickly, making Primrose sigh with relief, "But uh, kid," when the brunette looked at her father, she saw him pale slightly at what he was about to say, "Between you and me kiddo, when I told your mom what happened I think that if I hadn't defeated Obadiah, your mom would've."

Primrose smiled at him, "Of course daddy, mommy is strong!"

* * *

**November 25th**

On the screen of a television, Primrose watched a press conference being streamed live, with her uncle Rhodey standing at the podium, the same one from which her dad had delivered his fateful company turnaround statement after Afghanistan.

_"You've all received the official statement of what occurred at Stark Industries last night," Rhodey was saying. "There have been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and caused damage to the Reactor. Fortunately, a member of Tony Starks personal staff. . ."_

They were all waiting inside a side room, Tony was currently sitting reading a newspaper and being attended to by Pepper, who was using make-up to cover up the bruises on her dad's face.

Primrose decided to see what the journal said, she stopped watching television and peeked over her father's shoulders, not wanting to distract her godmother.

The headline ran,  **'Who is the Iron Man?'**  and there was a picture of Tonys Mk III that somebody had taken during the street fight the night before.

"That's you," she whispered at him, impressed.

"The one and only, baby," he whispered back, quite proudly, "Iron Man," Tony commented louder, experimentally, "That's kind of catchy. Its got a nice ring to it. I mean, it's not technically accurate, the suits a gold-titanium alloy –" he winced as Pepper pulled a bandage off the bridge of his nose. "– but it's kind of evocative – the imagery, anyway."

"Heres your alibi," Phil Coulson stated, standing nearby, as he handed Tony a set of blue cards.

"I like the color," Primose commented as she saw the cards.

"Thank you, it was between blue or red." Coulson nodded at her.

"Okay, can you stop encouraging my daughter to be cute, she already has plenty of that happening, explain this please," Tony teased as he took the cards.

"You were on your yacht," Coulson stated.

"Yeah," Tony said absently as he read the cards.

"We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night," said Coulson. "and sworn statements from fifty of your guests, including your daughter."

"See, I was thinking maybe we could say it was just, ah, just Prim, Pepper and I alone on the island." He looked impishly up at Pepper.

"Daddy" Primrose shook her head.

Pepper responded by pulling another bandage rather severely, with a smile that said "don't you even think about it", and began applying makeup to cover the scars.

"That's what happened," Coulson repeated, pleased.

"All right," Tony conceded, looking back down at the cards.

"Just read it word for word," the agent ordered him.

Tony frowned. "There's nothing about Stane here."

"That's being handled," Coulson enunciated quickly, "He's on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record."

Primrose frowned at this, so Obadiah was really dead. Her dad told her that he did what he had to do to protect everyone, he told her that Obadiah had gone insane with power hunger and that he wasn't the same man anymore. Primrose had been broken-hearted by this, she really held an affection for the man, he was comforting when her father disappeared, but he did say those mean things to her when she was they were alone.

She decided that she wasn't as sad as she could be for his death, Primrose felt saddened that it had to end up like this. All because of greed and money.

"But what about the whole cover story that its a bodyguard?" Tony clearly wasn't having any of it. "I mean, that's kind of flimsy, don't you think?"

"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark," Coulson told him apprehensively, "Just stick to the official statement and soon this will all be behind you."

Pepper finished making Tony up and smoothed her hair behind her ear.

"You've got ninety seconds," the agent stated before leaving the room.

Pepper hurried after him and stopped him at the door. "Oh, Agent Coulson," she said. "I just wanted to say, thank you very much for all of your help."

"That's what we do," Coulson nodded, "Youll be hearing from us."

"From the Strategic Homeland Interven-" began Pepper arching her eyebrows.

"Just call us SHIELD," he cut her quickly, and for a moment his impassive smile seemed more genuine as he turned and walked away.

"I like him," Primrose suddenly announced.

"Right!" Pepper exclaimed as she trotted over to pick up Tonys suit-jacket. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"You know, actually, it's not that bad," said Tony, getting up. "Even I don't think I'm Iron Man."

"You're not Iron Man," Pepper remarked, helping Tony into the jacket.

"Am so!" Tony defended, gripping the cards between his teeth as he got his arms into the sleeves. He winked at his daughter and she giggled at the bantering.

"You're not!" the assistant insisted.

"All right, suit yourself. You know, if I were Iron Man, Id have this girlfriend who knew my true identity – shed be a wreck, cause shed always be worrying that I was going to die," he pulled the cards out of his mouth and turned around, "yet so proud of the man Id become. She'd be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more –" he cleared his throat as Pepper straightened a folded square of silk in his buttonhole, "– crazy about me – tell me you never think about that night."

Primrose gaped at them, this was all new to her. She couldn't help it, her cheeks felt warm as she watched the exchange between her dad and her godmother. This was adult stuff! She quickly distracted herself by looking at the television, but it was worthless since she could still hear them behind her.

"What night?" Pepper inquired.

"You know," he drawled.

Pepper looked up into his face for the first time since they got here, "Are you talking about the night that we danced?" she asked. "And went up on the roof, and then you went downstairs to buy me a drink and left me there by myself? Is that the night you're talking about?"

Primrose facepalmed.

"Mm-hm," Tony hummed, deflating visibly.

"Thought so," Pepper teased, straightening his jacket.

There was about an instants silence in which Tony's eyes rolled up and away from Peppers face.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked, professionally.

"That will be all, Ms. Potts," Tony stated with the same tone, at the same moment, and he left in rather a hurry.

When he was gone, Primrose turned to Pepper and clicked her tongue with disappointment, "I think daddy needs to learn how to not forget important things," she lamented as Pepper chuckled.

"He's trying sweetheart, he's a complicated man," she told the seven-year-old, "Now let's go, Emma is probably tired of waiting for us with the press."

"Okay!"

* * *

"And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement," said Rhodey down in the conference room, and then as the reporters began to pipe up he added, "He will not be taking any questions. Thank you."

Primrose and Pepper joined Emma in the conference room just as Tony took Rhodey's place on the podium. They were standing in the back so the journalists couldn't see them well.

Tony came up to the microphone. "Uh. . ." he trailed off, clearly a bit out of balance. "... been a while since I was in front of you, I figured I'll just stick with the cards this time."

The press people all chuckled. Primrose smiled at how her dad could take control of a room so quickly.

Tony cleared his throat, and Pepper shared a concerned look with Emma. Both women were nervous that he wouldn't follow the cards, Emma had the pleasure to meet Coulson hours before, it was very brief but it was all it took for the blonde to trust him.

"There's been speculation," Tony began. "that I was involved in the events on the freeway and on the rooftop -"

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark," broke in an all-too-familiar voice. "But do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you –"

"Ugh, Christine." Pepper commented with her mom, who rolled her eyes.

"God, not her again." groaned Emma.

Primrose was confused, was this woman bad as well?

"I know that it's confusing," Tony interrupted, making a face. "It is one thing for you to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations or insinuate that I'm a superhero –"

Christine smirked, quickly cutting him, "I never said you were a superhero,"

"You didn't," Tony backtracked. "Well good, because that would be outlandish and, uh, fantastic –" he looked back down, and Christine arched her eyebrows skeptically.

"I'm just not the hero type, clearly," Primrose never saw her dad look so nervous before, "with this, uh – laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public. . ."

Rhodey put his mouth to Tony's ear and Primrose watched him whisper something to her father, who replied with nodding.

"Yeah, okay, yeah," her dad stated, seeming for a moment to pull it together and holding up the cards to look at them, "Truth is" He looked up, and his face went completely blank as he found Primrose's face staring at him.

Primrose didn't know what he was about to say, but all she could do was nod encouragingly at him.

"I am Iron Man." her dad stated.

Instantly, the press conference room was in an uproar and every reporter sprang to his or her feet – all except, of course, for Christine Everhart.

Tony almost smiled for a moment, how could he not? His baby girl was giving him a look of pure awe.

"Oh, Tony" Emma moaned, rubbing her temples.

"Yeah! Daddy is Iron Man!" Primrose cheered.


	15. The First Genetic Passing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small chapter before we continue on to Iron Man 2!

**Primrose's Age: Seven years.**

**December, 2008**

It's been three weeks since Obadiah's incident. Like Coulson had promised, the world now thought he had died in an aircraft crash during his vacation, a funeral was held but he was never mentioned again, not at her dad's house, not at her mom's. Obadiah Stane was dead, and everyone moved on.

Christmas was around the corner, and since Primrose has been feeling emotionally better since the whole fiasco, she was actually excited to celebrate it. Especially since this year, it was happening at her dad's. Ever since Primrose moved to Queens with her mom, she'd started to get used to the heavy rain, snow storms and the cold. Living in California almost all of her life, she'd gotten used to the warm weather. But that was not the reason why she was excited to stay with her dad this year, it was because she could.

Her father was kidnapped ten months ago, that traumatized the seven-year-old immensely. Even though the adults around here seemed to just move on because Tony was back, she still had nightmares about her daddy not coming back home.

She tried not to be too clingy. Her father was now busier than ever because the whole world discovered he's Iron Man. The military was after him because of the suit, he didn't tell that to Primrose but as always, she was observant. It was things that she did not comprehend yet – she was too young.

These past weeks, Primrose followed a normal schedule of staying with her dad for a week, then with her mom for another, draw some more, study and attend her homeschooling. And that was fine, she was okay with that. It was her duty as a child to grow up healthy and learn every day, develop a personality, a talent for her to be passionate about. Primrose decided to leave the adult stuff for them, she still worried but that was because she cared.

So that's why she was so excited for Christmas because every child is eager about a holiday that allows them to receive presents.

* * *

**January, 2009**

It was snowing in New York City. And Primrose loved it, her mom not as much. Being a Californian girl and all, she disliked the cold. But she still loved the city.

Joan visited them five days after New Year, with her daughter Mabel who had just turned two years old in December. Primrose still had a few memories of when she went with her mom the baby shower. She got to meet her aunt Joan's husband, Jack, and even though he looked scary and distant Primrose ended up liking him when he turned out to be a good man. Even Emma was impressed.

Everyone was happy that it was a girl. Even Jack, albeit nervous looking at first, ended up stating that he was glad he'd met Joan to finally have a family.

But that was almost three years ago. And Primrose was always happy whenever she saw her "cousin". Mabel was a brunette with dark brown eyes, she looked like Primrose which was something Emma and Joan considered odd but funny, it was like the two were actually related to each other. They got along well and during the visit, the two girls ended up taking a nap together.

But Joan didn't visit Emma and Primrose for her daughter to take a nap, she happily announced that she and her husband were moving to Brooklyn Heights, which was twenty minutes away by car! Joan explained that Jack got promoted and the city of his new job happened to be New York.

The two women felt like college students again, planning to have their lives together as friends and have their own children grow together as well, Joan was most excited about it but Emma was happy to have her back. Even when she disappeared when she most needed her, Joan has always been there for Emma, the two had been close friends during college and it seems that the bond had returned stronger.

Joan was moving in a week, and Emma promised she'd visit for a housewarming.

When they had to leave, Primrose almost cried because Mabel wouldn't stop, the two girls hugged each other not wanting to be apart again. It was honestly the sweetest thing.

* * *

**March, 2009**

On the second week of the month, Emma's heart almost stopped when she heard her daughter fall from her bed at three in the morning. She had found Primrose on the floor, looking at her with widened eyes and trying to gasp for some air to breathe.

Emma called an ambulance as fast as she could, and tried to help Primrose breathe better through some exercises – they didn't work. What happened was that her daughter would panic, cough harshly and wheeze loudly whenever she inhaled and exhaled. When the paramedics rushed into the house, Emma started to shake when they immediately brought the oxygen tank with them, and when the mask was placed on Primrose's mouth, they started making questions to the little girl.

Weakly, and thanks to the oxygen, Primrose was able to tell them that her chest hurt, it felt like an uncomfortable tightness or if someone was pressuring something heavy on her.

Emma ended up in the E.R that night, Primrose was being seen by a doctor as she talked on the phone with Tony. The man himself was extremely worried, Tony was obviously on his way there – he jumped out of bed as soon as JARVIS told him Emma was calling him at three in the morning, because in his mind why would anyone call at the hour for anything but bad news?

Emma told him the nightmare fuel of seeing Primrose crying during the ambulance ride as the oxygen mask allowed her to breathe better, but not completely.

Meanwhile, inside the office, Primrose had to blow on a peak flow meter as a test. Her doctor measured how much air she quickly forced out of her lungs for an indication of how well the lungs were working. In the end, she barely lifted until three hundred, and she had a massive coughing fit afterward.

When Tony arrived, five hours later, with Pepper by his side, Emma was waiting for them at the lobby while Primrose was being attended and medicated. Tony will never forget walking inside the hospital room and see his baby girl, looking smaller than before, lying on a gurney while a nebulizer mask attached to the machine itself administered the medication in the form of a mist that she inhaled into her lungs without realizing it.

When Primrose noticed her dad was in the same room as she was, she was too tired to even look excited to see him. One of the side effects of the medication from the nebulizer machine was sleepiness, and she has been in the hospital since three in the morning, and it was now eight. Tony tried not to panic or ask too many questions, so he simply asked how did this happen so suddenly, and Primrose only replied that she's been feeling out of breath for two days, but she didn't feel any pain and it would go away after a while.

Tony scolded her lightly, not wanting her to feel guilty, but she warned her that next time she needs to tell her mom and him if she feels sick or if something's wrong with her, even if it goes away after a moment. Primrose promised she would, looking weak with the mask covering her mouth and her nose, and then she had a coughing fit, alarming Tony and Pepper.

Now that Emma knew her daughter was safe, she felt the tiredness of pulling a sudden all-nighter crawl on her skin so while Tony and Pepper stayed with Primrose, she called to work and explained the situation, earning a day off from her sympathetic supervisor.

In the end, Primrose was diagnosed with chronic asthma. It shocked both Tony and Emma, and when the doctor asked if anyone in their family had asthma Tony said no, but Emma stated that her late grandmother had. They learned that Primrose's asthma was a severe type, and she needed to follow a medication until it was cured, which could take years. Both parents were shaken because asthma could kill if not treated.

The doctor gave them a prescription of a preventer inhaler that Primrose will need to take every day, even when she's feeling well, to keeps down the inflammation in her airways. A reliever inhaler that deals quickly with symptoms when they happen, they should keep that reliever inhaler handy so it's always there whenever their daughter would need but he quickly explained it was to be used only for emergencies and it wouldn't stop the asthma attack completely, just relief it for a moment. Then anti-allergic pills because Spring time it was the worst season for asthmatics because pollen (Tony shuddered when the doctor addressed his daughter as an asthmatic) could also trigger attacks, and finally, the doctor advised them to buy a nebulizer machine.

It was so overwhelming for both Emma and Tony, but they shook it off and got their shit together for Primrose's sake. Pepper asked them for a copy of the prescription note so she could go straight to the pharmacy and do her duty as Tony's P.A and most importantly as a godmother.

When everyone returned to Emma's apartment, Primrose was already sleeping from a long, scary night. Her small body was filled with medication and she needed to sleep it off, even though it was almost lunchtime. While she slept, her parents and Pepper sat down for a serious talk. Primrose suddenly developed a serious medical condition, and Emma was quick to assure Tony that if they follow the medication correctly their daughter would be fine, but the stress got to him and he implored Emma to consider on the nebulizer machine, which she was against. Emma didn't want her daughter inhaling too many drugs at once, she already had the two inhalers and she was too young and too small.

They argued, and Pepper had to stop them from yelling at each other because of Prim. In the end, Tony stated firmly that he was going to buy a nebulizer for himself, to keep it at his house and if Primrose ever had a serious asthma attack as she had now he'd use it. Emma eventually conceded, she was too tired to fight back at that point. Both parents were going to have the inhalers, they would have to warn the homeschooling teachers and the babysitters about Primrose's new condition and to watch out for any signs of a possible asthma attack.

It was all sudden and scary, but Primrose would be okay. Her family would make sure of that.


	16. Silly Hammer - IM 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The transcript is by 'Karma Rue Lovegood Everdeen', 'ElrondsScribe' and the movie belongs to Marvel.
> 
> PS: I know that in the official Wikipedia, it says that the Stark Expo happened in 2010 but I'm going to ignore that because it made no sense to me. Also, if you see me write something that you don't recognize check out the date or the location because I might write some events that don't happen in the movies.

**Primrose's Age: Seven years old.**

_**May 7th, 2009  
Location: Flushing, New York** _

Primrose looked around excitedly at the Stark Expo opening crowd, she was standing on the backstage with Happy, waiting for her dad to show up while they watched the intro. She couldn't help to be giddy about finally having a good moment after what happened six months ago, and after finding out she was an asthmatic, Primrose really needed to have fun.

Fireworks suddenly lit up the sky, startling Primrose who Happy had to chuckle at, as her dad descended from high above. And then, with an impact that rang throughout the Stark Expo, he landed on one knee on a great stage backed by a flashing screen with an image of a billowing American flag. Behind Tony and in front of the screen were about sixteen women in very scanty Iron Man inspired costumes that made Primrose giggle when Happy jokingly covered her eyes.

Down on the ground in front of the stage was a roaring crowd of some thousands of people. One of those roars came from little Primrose, whose mom had uncovered her eyes when she started jumping out of excitement.

The circle on the stage where Tony was standing began to separate itself into sections and up came the big yellow arms of the familiar yellow robot to remove the Iron Man Suit piece by piece. And then there he was in a pristine business suit, smiling and waving down at the crowd.

"There's my daddy!" Primrose exclaimed, amazed at the transformation. She thought that he's really been working on many ways to easily get in and out of the suit.

As  _Shoot To Thrill_ came to an end, the women all came forward and formed a half circle around Tony, each striking a pose.

Primrose awed and wondered where could she get those gloves. They seemed cool.

"Oh, its good to be back!" said Tony cheerfully as the women made their way offstage. "You missed me, I missed you."

"Can you blow something up?!" A man from the crowd yelled.

He held up his finger, "I already did that. I'm not saying, that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me," the audience cheered again, making Primrose smile, "I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity–" he held out his arms, "Never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history."

Primrose grinned widely at her dad on the stage, he could be so silly sometimes. But she loved him like that.

Tony inclined his head to more cheers while the words 'Stark Expo' glowed above his head on the screen that had previously shown the American Flag. "I'm not saying," he went on. "that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea, because I haven't come across anyone whos mad enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day!"

 **"Tony! Tony! Tony!"**  chanted the crowd, and a female voice from somewhere managed to make itself heard above the rest: "I love you, Tony!"

"Please," Tony said magnanimously, holding up one hand. "It's not about me. It's not about you. It's not even about us – its about legacy. Its about what we choose to leave behind for future generations," Tony paused for a moment, thinking about his daughter before continuing, "And that's why, for the next year, for the first time since nineteen-seventy-four, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future. It's not about us. Therefore what I am saying, if I'm saying anything, is – welcome back to the Stark Expo!" He paused and acknowledged the cheering crowd again.

"And now," continued Tony. "Making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what its all about, please welcome my father, Howard." And he turned and walked offstage as the screen lit up behind him.

Primrose, curiously, watched her late grandpa on the screen. She didn't know much about him, or her grandma, only that her dad looked a little like him and that he had been a busy man.

The Stark Industries logo floated over a number of images, and then Howard Stark appeared in a business suit seated in what must be his study.  _"Everything is achievable through technology,"_  he said.  _"Better living. Robust health. And for the first time, the possibility of world peace."_  He had by this time risen to his feet and walked around to stand in front of some sort of diagram. The Expo audience and Primrose watched as Howard went on,  _"So from all of us at Stark Industries, Id like to personally introduce you to the city of the future."_ And the view shifted to a close-up of the Stark Expo model.  _"Technology holds infinite possibilities . . ."_

As Primrose watched, she noticed that her dad was missing. He had probably walked to the other side of the stage and she couldn't make her way over there on her own. Happy wouldn't allow it, he's been very anxious about babysitting her while Tony makes his presentation and she didn't want to upset him even further, she was a good girl after all. So she decided to continue watching the screen.

 _" soon technology will affect the way you live your life every day, no more tedious work the Stark Expo,"_  said Howard Stark on the big screen with a smile that reminded Primrose the forced one that her daddy usually gave the press.  _"Welcome."_ Then the screen went mostly dark and the word EXPO appeared in large blue letters outlined with brightly colored squares. The audience applauded once again and so did Primrose, wondering if alive, her grandpa and grandma would be proud of her dad like she was.

"Hey kiddo!" her dad suddenly greeted as he approached them.

Primrose grinned and ran at him, hugging him instantly, "Daddy, you were awesome! Did you really jump from a plane? How did you know you were going to land there? And can I get those cool gloves too?" she questioned quickly, making Tony laugh out loud.

"Because I'm Iron Man, baby, I know everything. And sure, I'll buy you a pair of them, then you can be Iron man, how about that?" he said as Happy starting to lead them out of the stage. Tony was holding her hand as they walked.

"I want to be Iron Girl!" Primrose exclaimed.

"Hell yeah, you'll be Iron Girl!" Tony exclaimed too, excited.

"Swear!" Happy and Primrose scolded him at the same time, receiving an amused expression from Tony.

Tony grabbed a small pair of sunglasses before he tossed his suit-jacket to Happy for his cheek and he caught it before opening the doors to leave the stage, "Its a zoo out there, watch out," he said to Tony, and then to a tall gangly young attendant standing in front of the door out of the enclosure, "Open up, lets go!"

Primrose instantly grabbed the sunglasses her dad was already handed to her and put them on quickly, the flashes from the camera always hurt her eyes so she started wearing them. Tony and Primrose followed Happy outside into a waiting throng, the little girl stuck close to her daddy as always.

Tony suddenly avoided a woman whose pair of breasts barely covered in a black silk dress appeared right under his eyes, he didn't want Primrose to see her or to see him with her, but another woman was quick to grab him, "Tony, Tony!" she had ducked right under his arm and pressed a card into his hand.  _"Call me,"_  she said in his ear, making Primrose frown and Tony glare at her just before Happy managed to shoo her away.

It was no secret that even though he was now a father, some women (and mind you, men) still wanted to talk and mess around with Tony like when he messed with them before Primrose existed. But he was now a father of a seven-year-old and he needed to settle an example for his daughter, that meant no more exaggerated drinking, partying or even sleeping with a new woman every other day just because he was Tony Stark.

That life was over. He was done with it as soon as he held his baby girl for the first time.

But people didn't seem to get it, a woman took it too far when she tried to befriend Primrose just to get to Tony.

Then Primrose watched her dad bent down to take an Iron Man picture from a small girl to sign it, Primrose and the little girl shared a wave. Primrose didn't have any friends anymore, her friends from the park barely showed up and she was really starting to feel lonely. Tony then patted the head of a slightly bigger boy, probably Primrose's age, wearing a realistic Iron Man helmet, the boy giggled and Primrose had to say something.

"Cool helmet!" she smiled as her daddy kept walking.

The boy stared at her, his face hidden behind the helmet, but she saw him nod at her and wave quickly before she was gone to descend the stairs with her dad.

"This is Larry," said Happy, and a man appeared in front of Tony and shook his hand. "Hey, the Oracle of Otho," Larry stated.

"Pleasure, nice to see ya!" Tony rushedly replied.

"Call me!" Larry called out as Tony passed by him, Primrose started to blush from the crowd, she wasn't as used to it like her dad was.

"Ah, yes, what a night!" Tony said as he passed and ignored what seemed to be another gaggle of girls, then he clapped Happy's shoulders and passed through a set of doors into another building, "That was fun, right? Are you okay, honey?" he smiled, looking down at his blushing daughter.

"Y-Yeah, I was uh how do you say it, daddy? Over-what?"

"Overwhelmed." Tony nodded, "That's okay, we're out now. Is your asthma okay?"

"Yup!" Primrose stated proudly.

"Is her asthma good?" Happy asked concernedly, not having heard the whole conversation.

"She just said it was, mind your own business Happy." Tony quipped, joking as well.

Happy glared at him, making Primrose giggle at his face.

"Wasnt so bad," Happy said after a few seconds, changing the subject.

"No, it was perfect," Tony declared.

Happy pointed ahead, "Look what we got here, the new model," he said, and there indeed stood both a sleek silver car and an attractive brunette in a purple blouse and a skirt that was actually down to her knees.

"Who is she?" Primrose whispered to her dad.

"I don't know, but get inside and buckle up quickly, okay?" he whispered back. She nodded.

The woman stepped forward as Tony and Happy came up to the car, Primrose waited until she could get inside the car.

"Pleased to meet you, Tony," said the woman with a very pleasant smile as Tony went around the back of the car.

"I'm on the wheel," Tony informed Happy, "Do you mind?" And then, to Marshal, "Where are you from?"

"Bedford," replied Marshal.

Primrose entered the car as Happy pulled the front seat for her to hop in, she quickly buckled up and stared at the woman with a guarded expression.

"What are you doing here?" asked Tony as he got into the driver's seat.

"Looking for you," the woman stated.

"Yeah? You found me, how can I help you?" her dad asked, his face remained stoic. He showed no interest in her.

Marshal held out a folded document, "Yikes," Tony cried out as he looked at the paper.

"My daddy doesn't like being handled things!" Primrose suddenly said, making the woman smile with amusement.

Happy took the document for Tony, "Yeah, I have a peeve," the genius repeated, making a face.

"I got it," Happy assured Marshal as he reached over and took it knowing that Tony wouldn't with a long, suffering sigh.

Marshal continued to smile pleasantly at the men, now more because of Primrose, "You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at nine a.m," she explained.

Primrose felt her stomach drop, that didn't sound good.

"Can I see a badge?" Tony asked quickly.

"Oh, you want to see the badge?" the woman challenged.

"He likes the badge," Happy asserted.

"Can I see it too?" Primrose cut in.

Marshall held up the badge, still smiling. "You still like it?" she wittily remarked.

"It's shiny" the seven-year-old commented weakly when a tense silence settled in the car.

"Thank you, sweetie." Marshall nodded at her.

"Yep, this was nice but we have to go." Tony suddenly said, and he started up the car. Marshall took a step back, allowing them to drive without stepping on her.

"How far are we from D.C.?" asked Tony of Happy.

"D.C.?" said Happy. "Two hundred fifty miles."

"Hey honey guess what, we're going on a trip!" Tony told Primrose, she smiled nervously at him but at least smiled.

He didn't want her to think her father was in trouble.

The tires screeched as Tony drove off.

Of course that during the four-hour drive, Tony pulled up in a hotel near the Committee because it was still one in the morning. Tony and Prim shared a bedroom while Happy slept in a room adjoined to theirs and Tony couldn't sleep the rest of the night. His blood was being poisoned, and he was getting worse at each second it passed. He spent the rest of the hours until dawn watching Primrose sleep, peaceful and unaware that she probably would be fatherless before she could even turn eight years old.

When Tony was finally starting to fall asleep, it was time to check-out.

* * *

_**May 8th  
** **Location: U.S Capitol Building, Washington D.C.** _

Someone rapped on a podium with a gavel. "Mr. Stark," said a rather aggravating, oiled sort of voice – the voice of a rich American who has probably never done a days work in his life. "Could we pick up now where we left off?"

Primrose was sitting next to Pepper, who had flung from Stark's Enterprises in California to assist the court hearing. But she was rather nervously looking at her misbehaving dad, who was seated in a leather-backed chair in front of a long table. He was turned around in the chair communicating with Pepper, looking distinctly unamused.

The gavel was banged yet again to try to get his attention, "Mr. Stark, please," called the oily voice.

"Yes, dear," Tony quipped, turning to the microphone with a smirk that indicated hed said it entirely on purpose. The audience, even Primrose, tittered. She couldn't help it, it was so weird for her dad to say that to that man that it was funny.

"Could I have your attention?" asked the voice of the Senator.

"Absolutely," Tony told him with a bright and obviously fake smile.

Primrose could tell that the crowd was on her dad's side judging by how many chuckles were happening.

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" inquired Senator Stern, who looked every bit as indulged and oily as his voice sounded. Primrose frowned at him, she didn't like him.

"I do not," Tony stated into the microphone.

"You do not?" Stern pressed.

"I do not," repeated Tony. "Well," he amended before taking on, "it depends on how you define the word ."

"The Iron Man weapon," Stern stated.

"My device does not fit that description," her dad responded, firmly.

"Oh, well, how would you describe the device?" Stern asked, leaning forward in his chair and raising his eyebrows.

"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator," Tony replied, cutting off the end of the Senator's sentence in the process, his smirk had vanished entirely and his voice had hardened.

"As?"

"Ah, it's a, um, its a high-tech prosthesis," Tony said, visibly hesitating in the middle to choose his words carefully, that resulted in a hearty laugh from the crowd

" That is, that's –" He continued over the laughter, all but Pepper and Primrose seemed to be enjoying this, "That's actually the most apt description I could make of it,"

"Its a weapon," Stern said, ignoring him, "Its a weapon, Mr. Stark, I have to say it – is a weapon."

"Please," Tony promptly interrupted him, scornfully looking at the Senator, "if your priority was actually the wellbeing of the American citizenry –"

However, Stern continued talking, "My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."

"That's not fair, daddy made it so it's his, right Pepper?" Primrose asked her godmother fearfully.

Pepper didn't know what to say, "It's not that simple, sweetie." the assistant managed to reply, concerned over the little girl's emotional state.

"Well, you can forget it," Tony asserted bluntly, out cameras flashed in his face. "I am Iron Man. The Suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man Suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude or, Prim cover your ears, prostitution, depending on which state you're in." He didn't skip a beat when the others behind him (and around him in the lounge) chuckled, "You can't have it."

Primrose had her ears covered when Pepper shook her head. The strawberry-haired woman signalized Primrose that it was okay to listen now, which made her uncover her ears as people sitting nearby the two looked fondly at the little girl. A reporter was even able to snatch a photo of the moment.

Senator Stern apparently had other ideas for this meeting. "Look, I'm no, ah, expert –" he began.

"In prostitution?" said Tony. "Of course not, you're a senator! Come on!" He flung out his arm and gestured to the crowd to get more laughter from the audience. Tony made a brief eye-contact with Pepper, who shook her head at him disapprovingly, he then looked at his daughter and when he didn't see her even smile he settled back down at once with a grim expression.

"I'm no expert in weapons," continued Stern as if nothing had happened. "But we have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I would now like to call Justin Hammer, our primary weapons contractor –"

Tony sent a skeptical look over the man taking a seat at the other end of the table before starting, "Let the record reflect that I observe Mr. Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance."

Primrose covered her mouth to giggle, that was mean! But it was funny! She felt bad immediately.

Senator Stern rapped with the gavel again as the crowd murmured amongst themselves about the obvious disdain Tony had just shown. After all, it was well-known that if Tony Stark was still making weapons, Justin Hammer would not have DOD contracts.

However, Justin Hammer laughed if off. He had a rather slouching, careless manner that attempted to exude Competence and Confidence but in reality, did neither. "Absolutely, I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony." He smirked at the man in question. "You're the Wonderboy." it was clear that he didn't mean a single word he said.

To Primrose, it was weird to hear someone call her dad 'Anthony'. Everyone called him Tony. She made a face at Justin Hammer, was he trying to impress someone?

"Senator, if I may," continued Hammer, rising to his feet, walking around the table and taking the microphone with him, "I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert, your dad," He pointed at Tony. "Howard Stark. Really a father to us all, and to the military industrial age."

Primrose could feel her dad tense just by watching his back, she couldn't believe this Hammer man brought her grandpa's name up like it was nothing!

"Let's just be clear, he was no flower child," Hammer went on, leaning against something which was sitting on the table and looking the opposite of professional. "He was a lion." Senator Stern looked immensely pleased with the dark expression on Tony's face.

"We all know why we're here," continued Hammer, "In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet he insists its a shield. He asks us to trust him," he gave a deprecating shake of his head, a truly childish mocking expression displaying his distaste for Tony as clear as day, "as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. Id love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house. But this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats – threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you," Hammer finished as he went back to his chair, "God bless Iron Man, and God bless America."

Primrose was frowning at this point, she decisively didn't like Justin Hammer.

The people on the panel and some scattered audience members were the only ones who applauded Hammer's speech as Senator Stern spoke again:

"That is well said, Mr. Hammer. The Committee would now like to invite Lieutenant-Colonel James Rhodes to the Chamber."

"Rhodey?" Tony said, slightly shocked while the press jumped to their feet, "What?" he was obviously blindsided. He looked back to the Chamber's entrance as Primrose did.

She couldn't believe it, is her godfather going to really testify against her dad? No way, he was here to help, right?

Lieutenant-Colonel James Rhodes walked down the aisle, avoiding looking at Primrose's confused expression, his uniform pristine. Tony got up as Rhodes approached the table and walked back toward him, "Hey, buddy," he greeted him pleasantly, grasping his old friend's hand, "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Look, It's me, I'm here, deal with it, let's move on." he summarised succinctly, briefly looking at his friend.

"I just -" began Tony.

"Drop it," said Rhodey in a tone that brooked no argument as they made their way back to the table together to take their seats.

"All right, I'll drop it. Prim will be so happy when she sees you here though,"

That was a low blow for Rhodey, but Tony was right. Rhodey couldn't even bear to look at her at the moment.

"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon compiled by Colonel Rhodes," Senator Stern stated, "and, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page fifty-seven, paragraph four?"

"You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?" Rhodey clarified to make it clear to those watching knew exactly what the Senator was trying to do.

"Yes, sir," Stern said.

"It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner," Rhodey said calmly.

"I understand," Stern said quickly, clearly not wanting him to go too far down that line of thought, "A lot of things have changed today, so would you just read"

Rhodey, however, wasn't going to let him get away by changing the subject and began talking over him, "You understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my findings–"

"Just read it, Colonel, I do. Thank you" Stern told him, sharply.

Rhodey gave the Senator a measured look. Then his eyes dropped to his report, "Very well," he said and turned to the requested page. "As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to both the security of the nation and to her interests." Rhodey then sent several apologetic looks at Tony, while clearly hating the situation.

"Did they make uncle Rhodey say that?" Primrose asked Pepper, hopeful that she was right.

Pepper pursed her lips and sadly shook her head, "No, but they're making him say a report out of context. It's a manipulation of words."

"Oh," Primrose mumbled, trying to understand.

Rhodey looked back up, clearly unhappy, "I did, however, go on to summarize that the benefits if Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities and that it would be in our interests –"

"Ah, ah, ah," Stern hastily tried to stop the Colonel from speaking a few times throughout that sentence, "That's enough – that's enough, Colonel! That's enough!" he stated, overlapping his voice.

Rhodey was still speaking. "– to fold Mr. Stark into the existing chain of command, sir."

Tony leaned forward to speak into his own microphone. "I'm not a joiner," he quipped, "but Ill consider Secretary of Defense if you ask nice, we can amend the hours a little bit." His quips continued to get his laughs from the audience, providing that Stern's attempt to turn the public against him wasn't working.

Stern cleared his throat. "Id like to go on and show, if I may," Stern said a little nervously now, "the imagery that's connected to your report."

"I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public," Rhodey advised with a smile that did not touch his eyes.

"With all due respect," the Senator said in a tone that meant no respect given, "Colonel, I understand, and if you could just narrate those for us, we'd be very grateful."

Rhodey gestured to a man that turned on a large flatscreen television at the side saying, "let's have the images," knowing there was nothing else he could do. An aerial view of a compound was shown as Rhodey began talking, "Intelligence suggests," said Rhodey. "that the devices seen in these photos are in fact attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Starks Suit."

Tony frowned at this and he pulled a small device that looked like a smartphone out of his pocket and turned it on. His thumbs flew over the icons as he began typing on it as Rhodey continued, "This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground indicating that these Suits are quite possibly at this moment, ah, operational."

"Hold on one second, buddy," Tony said, leaning forward with the small device in hand. "Let me see something here," He held up the little device up in front of the flatscreen and pushed an icon on the device. "Boy, I'm good," he congratulated himself as a black box with lines of code and the words 'WELCOME, MR. STARK' appeared over the pictures that had been shown earlier. "I commandeered your screens," Hammer appeared disconcerted by this development, "I need em," he commented while he pressed another icon on the device. "Time for a little transparency. Now let's see what's really going on."

Stern seemed uneasy, "What is he doing?"

"If you'll direct your attention to said screens," Tony continued, ignoring the Senator and putting the device back down on the table while moving his fingertips across it. "I believe that's North Korea," He punched an icon and grainy footage was shown on the screen of a Mark one sized robot taking a tentative step and toppling down, activating a spray machine-gun fire.

Primrose gasped, she's been so quiet and attentive. Normally this would be boring for a child but this was about her daddy so she wanted to be really good and pay attention.

"Can you," Senator Stern was leaning forward and pointing. "Can you turn that off – take it off?" he ordered, panicking and knowing it was ruining his argument. Hammer stood up, obviously in an attempt to do just that.

"Iran," Tony continued, punching the screen of his little device again. Hammer was in front of the television by this time, fumbling with it, but it was plain to see a man catapulting through the air in an attempt at flight and disastrously crashing, Primrose cringed at that, "No grave immediate threat here," said Tony, and then he perked up in sudden interest and added, "Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game?"

"Justin, you're on TV," Tony pointed out with snark as Hammer tried to block the screen with his body, "Focus up." He shared a look with a smirking Rhodey as members of the committee talked among themselves, clearly only just having been made aware of this development.

"I knew Mr. Hammer was being too nice, but he was also being mean what's that called, Pepper?"

"Passive-aggressive," Pepper told her as she watched the exchanged with a tense expression.

 _"Okay, give me a left twist,"_  said the Justin on the screen to his test subject,  _"Left's good. Turn to the right,"_  Here the suit glitched with sparks flying off it as Hammer backed away,  _"Oh, shit!"_  cried the Justin on the screen, skipping backward as the suit began to collapse.

At that moment Justin managed to unplug the television, after which he turned at once and began scrambling back to his seat. The room was rustling with whispers and some laughter, and everyone was pointing. Senator Stern rubbed the bridge of his nose in consternation.

"Yeah, Id say, uh, most countries, five to ten years away," Tony stated, and he gestured toward Justin who was just getting back into his chair. "Hammer Industries, at least twenty." he deadpanned.

"Id like to point out that that test pilot survived," Justin inputted, obviously humiliated.

Senator Stern stood up. "I think we're done, is the point that he's making," he said hurriedly, "I don't think there's any reason –"

"The point is, you're welcome, I guess," Tony told him.

"For what?" asked the Senator.

"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent," Tony spread his hands. "It's working. Were safe. America is secure." Tonys' voice was rising, "You want my property? You can't have it!" He brought his hands down on the table with a thud. "But I did you a big favor!" He rose to his feet and turned to face the crowd, "I have successfully privatized world peace." There, he held up peace signs on both hands as the audience stood up and applauded.

"What more do you want?" cried Tony above the applause. "For now! I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns!" He pointed back to the Congress table.

"Swear!" Primrose shouted at him, but she was smiling as she also clapped for her daddy, Tony must've heard her because he winked at her.

Stern smiled at Tony and said, "Fuck you, Mr. Stark. Fuck you, buddy." he declared.

Primrose gasped at what she just heard, she even covered her mouth with shock. He said the F-word! And on national television!

"Were adjourned - were adjourned for today," Stern stated with a sigh.

"Okay!" Tony said with a beaming smile. He bent down to the table where he'd been sitting, picked up his sunglasses, and put them on.

"You've been a delight," the Senator quipped in a voice that indicated that Tony had been just the opposite. The viewers were still in various stages of laughter. Rhodey shook his head in astonishment for just what Tony had pulled on the committee.

Tony was now walking down the center aisle toward the camera, "Cause my bond is with the people," he was saying. "And I will serve this great country at the pleasure of – myself! If there's one thing I've proven," said Tony proudly. "it's that you can count on me," He took off his sunglasses to look straight into the camera. "to pleasure myself!"

Primrose giggled as Tony walked straight to her afterward and high-fived her, "Daddy, you're crazy!" she yelled at him, her voice overlapped by the cheering around them.


	17. The Kim Possible Theory Begins - IM2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was in the mood to write so here's a new chapter just after a day! And also, happy Easter for those who celebrate it! :)
> 
> ALSO, thank you so much for 886 views, 42 kudos and the comments!
> 
> The transcript is by 'Karma Rue Lovegood Everdeen', 'ElrondsScribe' and the movie belongs to Marvel.

**_May 12th, 2009  
Location: Hunters Point, Queens_ **

**_Tuesday  
6:33 PM_ **

It's been four days since the hearing, and the world still talked about the incredible performance Tony Stark had given, the reporters that had been present had stated that he practically just gave Stern a middle finger when he ordered Tony to give the military his Iron Man suit.

Primrose had been a little confused to why the military was after her dad's amazing suit, and all Emma could tell her that they thought the suit could help them win against the bad people and protect the world better. That all seemed silly for the little girl – since her daddy has been doing that on his own for six months.

Emma was concerned about Tony, she watched the hearing on television like millions of people did and although she was amused at her daughter's father antics she couldn't help to noticed he acted more reckless than usually. Every time she wanted to talk with him, like a real conversation, he'd avoid it and change the subject to anything else – usually to Primrose. How was she in school, was she making any friends or what did she had for dinner.

Tony has been calling every night since Primrose returned to New York. Usually, he'd call two or three times a week like Emma did whenever their daughter was in Malibu, but something seemed to be off nowadays. Emma recognized the obsessive behavior, and she was starting to worry because Tony would not explain himself.

Primrose didn't mind, she loved having the attention of her father. They would talk for almost two hours every day, sometimes she'd let phone on speaker while she drew on the floor and Tony would listen to her humming and help her choose the colors. It was cute at first, but now it was worrying. It was like Tony was scared Primrose was going to disappear.

Emma was thinking about the whole situation as she sipped a glass of wine while watching her current favorite television show 'How I Met Your Mother'. Primrose was in her bedroom, drawing as usual, when Emma's phone started vibrating.

It was Pepper calling her.

She was not surprised but delighted. The two would usually talk with each other about Tony or Primrose, and they would find themselves having a lot in common like wanting to travel, or being two strong independent women with good jobs. Little did Emma know that Pepper was about to rise up in that form.

"Hey Pepper," Emma greeted happily.

_"Hey Emma, so today was strange. Guess what Tony just did!"_  Pepper quickly said.

Emma smiled, "He finally told you he loved you and he also proposed at the same time?" she teased her friend before taking a sip from her wine.

Pepper laughed,  _"No, better! He made me CEO of Stark Enterprises!"_

Emma choked on her drink and had to place the glass on the coffee table as she coughed harshly, "He did WHAT?!"

_"Are you okay?!"_  Pepper exclaimed with a concerned tone.

"Forget about me," Emma cleaned her throat, "He made you CEO? Just like that?!"

" _Yes! I'm so happy! Well, I was furious at him first when donated our entire modern art collection to the Boy Scouts of America."_  Pepper stated, her voice going from happy to sour in a second.

"The one you proudly told me that you put in over ten years curating? Oh my God."

He was giving important things away, he made his personal assistant into the CEO of a huge enterprise. And then there was the Expo, it was unnecessary and obviously just there to feed his ego, but why open it for a full year? There is something really bad happening with Tony, this was the evidence that Emma needed. Now all she needed to find out is what was wrong with him, what was Tony Stark hiding.

_"Yeah, that one. I was really upset over that and a lot of things, but when he announced he was making me CEO he already had the champagne ready so I think he was going to do it anyways, not to just stop me from nagging him about his behavior."_ Pepper continued, her voice sounded tired but happy.

"Yeah well, congratulations Pepper! You deserve it! We need to celebrate!" Emma chuckled, trying to sound as enthusiastic as ever.

_"Oh no, it's not official yet. He needs to sign a lot of documents first and oh, geez, I'm going to need to hire my own assistant now"_  Pepper mumbled,  _"I better go start preparing myself, thank you so much for your support, Emma! Tell Primrose I love her, okay?"_

"I will, bye Pepper. Call me more!" Emma quickly said before Pepper told her another goodbye before hanging up the phone.

Emma grabbed her glass of wine again and downed everything at once if she was anxious before than now was the time to panic. If Tony was giving things that mattered to him away then that could mean a lot of things, and she was scared of all of them.

* * *

_**May 22nd  
Location: Malibu, California** _

_**Friday  
5:33 PM** _

Primrose always liked her dad's music, she was starting to really get his taste as  _The Magnificent Seven_  by the Clash's played in her dad's indulgent fitness room, complete with a boxing ring. The seven-year-old sat on one of the couches, watching her dad and Happy spar on the boxing ring, the weather was nice and she was having fun and cheering for her daddy to win.

She suddenly saw Pepper enter the room and a happy grin formed in her lips.

"The notary's here!" Pepper called, "Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?"

"I'm on Happy time!" Tony told her, continuing to box his bodyguard ducking under most of his blows to make up for him being physically smaller than Happy.

"Hi Pepper!" Primrose suddenly greeted, making her godmother smile.

"Hi sweetie, how are you?" Pepper asked as the woman looked at Primrose with a curious look.

"I'm watching daddy kick Happy's butt!"

Tony delivered a strike that made Happy's head fly backward with a grunt, "Sorry," he said hastily, not sounding sincere.

"Daddy!" Primrose scolded, feeling bad for the man.

"What the hell was that?!" Happy demanded angrily.

"Its called mixed martial arts," Tony quipped, hopping back and forth, "Its been around for three weeks now –"

"It's called dirty boxing, there's nothing new about it. All right, lift em up, Cmon!" Happy snapped at him.

"All right, put them up. Come on," Tony taunted as Primrose noticed a new person walking into the room.

The woman was very pretty. She was dressed in a white blouse and black pants, and her long hair, which was a much darker red than Peppers, fell in waves around her shoulders. Happy also seemed to have noticed her, he stared at her causing Tony to turn around and see what he was looking at. Tony didn't mean to check the woman out too at once, he stopped quickly, feeling guilty about having Primrose and Pepper in the room.

"I promise you this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company," Pepper snarked at him before smiling politely at the pretty woman when she walked at her with a folder in her hand.

The redhead stranger opened her folder for Pepper to look at, "I need you to initial each box," she said in her pleasantly husky voice, handing over a pen.

Primrose watched the exchange curiously, she noticed that Happy seemed to be staring at the woman a lot.

As Tony studied the woman carefully, Happy suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, "Lesson one: Never take your eye off–"

Tony didn't bother letting him finish that sentence, considering he was doing nothing to back it up. Instead, Tony's foot slammed into the mat protecting Happy's stomach, sending him reeling against the other side of the boxing ring into the corner of the bell, signifying his win rang out.

Primrose and the woman both looked up at the sound of a heavy thud, Pepper just continuing signing the document the woman had brought, and the gong dinging followed by Happy's voice: "That's it, I'm done," as he began removing his gear.

Primrose cringed, her dad could be so mean sometimes.

"What's your name, lady?" Tony asked, knocking on the bars of the wrestling to get the woman's attention.

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman," the redhead replied quickly.

"Front and center, come into the church," Tony said, taking a swallow of his nasty looking drink. Primrose didn't know what he was drinking but it looked green and bad.

"Daddy" Primrose began, getting Natalie's attention this time. As soon as she looked at Primrose, the little girl smiled shyly.

"Hi" she greeted her, "I'm Primrose,"

Natalie nodded at her, smiling slightly.

"No, you're seriously not going to ask her –" Pepper started as Natalie looked on, curiously trying to determine Tony's motives.

"If it pleases the court, which it does," Tony interrupted, prompting an exasperated sigh from Pepper.

"No problem," Natalie simply answered, smirking a little. Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked to the boxing ring, seeming to ignore Peppers: "I'm sorry, he's very eccentric."

Tony lifted the ropes, and Natasha slipped her shoes off and ducked under them as she climbed inside the ring. She straightened up and eyed Tony again as if sizing him up, which was confusing Primrose to why the two were looking at each other like that. Did they dislike each other? It seemed intense.

Tony eyed Natalie and took another drink from his bottle. She smiled at him.

"What?" he asked after taking the bottle from his mouth.

She just looked up at him, continuing sizing him. It was like she was trying to intimidate him, but of course, Primrose didn't understand that. She was getting worried about it.

Tony suddenly gestured to Happy, "Could you, uh, give her a lesson?" he asked, stepping out of the boxing ring and heading straight to Pepper, who was sitting on a chair next to Primrose's one.

The brunette didn't even notice her godmother sitting there, she had been staring at Natalie and her dad for too long.

Happy obligingly stepped up to Natasha, "Um-hm, no problem," he said. Natasha threw a look over her shoulder as Tony went to sit down.

"Pepper," Tony whispered at once, "Hey squirt," he quickly ruffled Primrose's head, making her giggle.

"What?" Pepper asked, who was obviously less than impressed by the proceedings.

"Who is she?" Tony asked.

"She is from legal," Pepper sighed exasperatedly, "And she is potentially a" she lowered her tone, making Primrose unable to hear her next words as she leaned closer to Tony, "very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that, especially in front of your daughter." She added, leaning back again.

Tony frowned, "It's not like that," he respected Primrose too much to flirt with other women while she was in the same room, "Also, I need a new assistant, boss." Tony quipped.

"You do? I can be your assistant, daddy!" Primrose cut in, smiling hopefully.

"Oh honey, I wish," Tony chuckled.

Pepper smiled at the exchange before talking, "I've got three excellent potential candidates," she insisted, clearly ignoring Tony's implications, "They've lined up and ready to meet you."

Tony, however, was still watching Natalie being given a lecture by Happy about boxing before saying, "I don't have time to meet. I need someone now, I feel like it's her."

"Why her, daddy?" Primrose wondered.

"Yes, Tony, why her?" Pepper repeated, trapping him with Primrose.

"Uh, no reason honey! I have a really good feeling about her, don't you?" he asked his daughter, trying to look innocent.

Primrose looked confusedly at her dad before paying attention to the boxing ring, when she did, Pepper gave Tony a scowl and he at least looked ashamed but still with a smirk on his face. The seven-year-old watched the two talk, well Happy was the one moving his mouth mostly, Natalie just couldn't stop glancing their way, leaving Primrose a little shy.

"How do I spell your name, Natalie?" Tony called out just when Natalie seemed defensive at Happy's questions. Primrose looked at him, the little girl couldn't look more lost than she looked now.

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N," Natalie spelled out for him, looking slightly nervous.

"What are you doing, daddy?" Primrose asked.

"What are you going to google her now?" Pepper sighed as Tony reached for the holographic table and typed in the name to bring up a lot of files about Natalie Rushman.

"I'm investigating her, honey," Tony told Primrose, "And Pepper, I thought I was ogling her?" he snarked.

"Ogling?" his daughter repeated.

"Watching, Prim." Tony quickly corrected himself, "Oh, wow," he said approvingly, "Very, very impressive individual."

"You're so predictable, you know that?" Pepper stated.

"She's fluent in French," Tony went on, finding an array of very alluring pictures while ignoring Pepper's comment, "Italian, Russian, Latin – who speaks Latin?"

Primrose excitedly rose her hand, "I wanna speak Latin!" she announced, "But what's Latin?"

"The language of the dead." Tony joked, making Primrose pale slightly, "Just kidding, it's a language that's already dead, honey."

Primrose glared slightly at him but forgave him.

"Also, no one speaks Latin," Pepper sighed, trying her best not to even look at Tony at this point, she looked at Primrose and smiled reassuringly, "It is really a dead language, sweetie."

"Wait, no one really speaks Latin?" Tony scoffed.

"You can read Latin or you can write Latin," Pepper explained as Tony accidentally pulled up pictures of Natalie modeling in underwear up onto the main screen, "but you can't speak Latin–TONY!" she snapped.

He quickly sent the pictures away and stammered at Primrose, "You saw nothing! Sorry, I thought they were normal photos! I swear!" he told Pepper this time, his voice urgent.

Primrose giggled, "What's wrong? Natalie was wearing pretty bikinis," she found it funny that her dad and godmother freaked out over bikinis. Was it because Natalie was a stranger? Maybe it was a private thing, "Is it bad?"

"NO!" Tony and Pepper both exclaimed, "I mean," Tony continued, "We were surprised because those were personal photos of Ms. Rushman that for some strange reason are public," Pepper cut him by smacking her document across the back of his head, "I mean–don't think much about what you just saw, okay?"

Primrose seemed nonchalant about the whole situation, "Okay!" she shrugged.

The conversation was enough to get Natalie to turn her head and try to see what was going on.

"Rule number one," Primrose heard Happy say, "Never take your eye off your opponent."

Natalie's head snapped around, and her left hand closed on Happy's right arm. She pushed sideways on the arm, and in an instant, her body had flipped completely around, her feet flying over her head and her legs fastening round Happy's neck. The man topped like a ninepin.

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Primrose cried involuntarily because she was actually surprised.  
"Whoa!" Tony cried.  
"Oh, my God!" Pepper howled at the same time.

"Hu-wah!" Natalie huffed, unwinding her legs from Happy's throat and getting up.

"Happy!" Pepper said anxiously as Natalie stood up and made her way out of the boxing ring.

"Happy are you okay?!" Primrose got up from her seat, making her way to the ring.

"That's what I'm talking about." Tony praised Natalie, making his way there as well.

"I just slipped," Happy quickly insisted, climbing to his feet rather more slowly than Natalie.

"You did?" Tony rang the bell, "Looks like a TKO to me!"

"What does that mean?" Primrose asked, still looking rather concerned over Happy.

"Technical knockout," Natalie replied at her, smiling at the same time. Primrose looked awed at her. Natalie had by this time slipped nimbly out of the ring and down to the floor in front of Tony, "I just need your impression," she said as she put on her shoes.

Tony squinted. "You have a quiet reserve? I don't know, you've got an old soul–"

"I meant your fingerprint," Natalie clarified, she picked up her file and opened it for Tony.

"Right," Tony stated, and he pulled out what seemed to be a sort of sticker.

"So, how're we doing?" Pepper asked with her most professional smile, walking up to the pair as Tony was shown the page where the fingerprint had to go.

"Great," Tony told her earnestly, "Just wrapping up. Hey," He punched the sticker down on the page in Natashas folder, "you're the boss."

That's right, Primrose was told that her godmother was now in charge of her dad's enterprise. Tony told her that in the contract, it would still be Primrose's in the future if she wanted to continue on for him after his or Pepper's retirement. But he told his daughter not to even dwell on it now, she was far too young. Primrose did exactly as he did because the whole conversation brought up the memory of the talk she had with Obadiah, about her not being good enough to be the next genius Stark the world expected her to be.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Natalie asked, throwing her errant hair back over her shoulder.

"No," Tony stated before he was interrupted by Pepper, "Yes, that will be all, Ms. Rushman, thank you very much."

Natalie was starting to walk away when Primrose, for some reason, called her out. She walked up to her, getting everyone's attention, and shyly asked: "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Tony was appalled, he and Pepper shared a look. Why would this sweet, innocent child want to learn such a violent move?

Natalie seemed thrown off, she was speechless for seconds before she smiled down at Primrose, a genuine smile this time, and answered, "Maybe one day," and with that, Natalie walked off back to the deliver the file to legal while Tony pouted.

"I want one,"

Pepper immediately told him no.

Primrose just continue staring at Natalie until she walked around the corner of the hall, the little girl was incredibly fascinated by the woman. She appeared out of nowhere, kicked Happy's (a man physically larger than her) butt like it was nothing and she was very, very pretty.

Primrose squealed to herself excitedly, Natalie Rushman was definitely some sort of vigilant, "She's like Kim Possible..." she said out loud with a dreamy voice.

Tony arched his eyebrow at his daughter, "Oh boy." he mumbled.


	18. Coup de Fouet - IM2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The transcript is by 'Karma Rue Lovegood Everdeen', 'ElrondsScribe' and the movie belongs to Marvel.

_**May 23rd, 2009  
Location: Monaco, France** _

Even after being inside an airplane for thirteen hours, having only slept seven hours of those, Primrose was too excited to even feel tired. The seven-year-old was in another country for the first time in her life. Primrose was supposed to be with her mom by now, but yesterday Emma had called Tony to ask him if he could take care of Primrose for at least two more days because Emma was covering a co-worker's shift for two days.

Tony was more than thrilled to help, the more time he spent with his daughter the better. Besides, he felt giddy that he had been the one to travel with Primrose to another country for the first time, at least if he was going to die she would remember this happy memory along with him.

From what Primrose could understand, they were here for the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. Her dad explained that it was a series of car races, each focusing on a specific period in Grand Prix history. He owned a Grand Prix and they were here to watch the race and support the Stark Team, but also to be on a small vacation – the first one in two years! Primrose knew her daddy loved cars, she liked the one currently on her dad's shop.

Primrose was sitting between Tony and Pepper in the car that Happy was driving on the racing track towards the hotel, Primrose felt nervous when she saw the crowd outside, cheering. With two security guards riding in front on motorcycles, the car which was, of course, a Grand Prix pulled to a stop in front of the Hotel de Paris.

Tony Stark stepped out of the back door, and anybody that happened to be sitting or standing where they could see him at once burst into applause. Tony raised two fingers, doing his peace sign, in salute. Then he grabbed hold of his daughter's hand to help her out of the car as well, the crowd cheered for her too because a sight from Primrose Evans-Stark out in public was a rare one to see. She smiled shyly and waved at the crowd.

On the other side of the car, Happy opened the door for the new CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper, who was wearing a blue dress with white polka-dots which was slightly off-the-shoulder, with matching pumps (because Pepper never appeared in public without pumps). As Happy turned to follow Pepper, Primrose, and Tony into the building, the little girl saw that he was carrying a bright red-and-silver briefcase. She saw it on the private plane and when she asked her dad about it her dad said it was a new project he would test later.

Inside the hotel, which was filled with people wearing only the most expensive-looking clothes you could imagine, (Primrose was awed at the women's hats, they looked really fancy and funny) Tony led the way into what seemed to be the dining room while holding hands with his daughter.

Primrose was glad Pepper helped dress up for the event, the seven-year-old was wearing a pink floral-print high-low hem dress paired up with white ballerina flats. Her daddy said she looks like a princess, and she felt like one too.

"You know, its Europe, whatever happens in the next twenty minutes, just go with it," Tony told Pepper, turning briefly towards her.

"Go with it? Go with what?" Pepper said in a slightly panicked tone of voice.

Primrose was listening to them until she spotted a familiar person, "Daddy look!"

Tony looked down at her before following whoever Primrose was looking at, "Hey!" he greeted her warmly as he removed his sunglasses.

"Mr. Stark?" Natalie greeted back, she was in a very fetching pink dress with a very professional smile, "Hello, how was your flight?" she redhead smiled down at Primrose, who had a shy expression on her face.

"It was excellent," Tony responded after watching the two interact, he then took a small glass from a tray that was being offered him by a waiter, "Boy, its good to see you."

"We have one photographer from the ACM, if you don't mind," Natalie, gesturing over her shoulder, and a man who had been standing behind her raised a camera.

"Okay," Tony told her while putting on a smile as the photographer approached, "But ask Prim is she minds," he added as Pepper turned to start a conversation with him.

The photographer pointed the camera at Primrose and Natalie instantly covered the lens with her hand, she glared at the man before snarking: "You heard Mr. Stark, ask her first!"

"S-Sorry," he nervously stammered, "Do you mind?" he asked Primrose hopefully because if he was able to have a photo of the Stark's daughter his boss would be happy.

Primrose nervously looked at Natalie, who smiled and nodded encouragingly, "Fine..." she conceded, showing him a shy smile before Natalie stopped covering the lens and allowed the man to take a photo.

"Thank you!" he told her with a happy tone.

"When did this happen?" Pepper said as Primrose was distracted with the photographer, her teeth gritted in a smile that did not touch her eyes.

"You made me do it," Tony retorted, his mouth also stretched into a smile meant clearly for the camera only.

"I made you do what?" Pepper demanded.

"You quit," Tony said simply directing his attention to the photographer now that he was done with taking photos of his daughter, "Smile. Look right there. Stop acting constipated. Don't flare your nostrils."

"You are so predictable," Pepper said exasperatedly, "that's the amazing thing."

Primrose frowned up at them, she felt her dad tighten the hold of his hand with her own, it didn't hurt but she could feel the difference.

"Right this way," Natalie told them as she started leading the way. Tony promptly walked away from Pepper who was slightly left behind when she grabbed a drink from a tray, Primrose look behind and saw that she started following them as she sipped from the cup.

"You look fantastic, doesn't she look fantastic, Prim?" Tony complimented Natalie.

"Hi Ms. Rushman, you look pretty," Primrose quickly said, looking at her own shoes to avoid eye contact. She already felt her cheeks becoming warm.

"You look adoringly cute," Natalie told her pleasantly before addressing Tony, "Thank you very much," she said with a slight smile.

"Doesn't she? My daughter looks like a princess." he gloated, grinning when Primrose whined.

"Daddy..."

He quickly chuckled and returned his attention to Natalie, "But that's unprofessional," Tony admitted, referring to the compliment he gave, "what's on the docket?"

"You have a nine-thirty dinner," Natasha informed.

"Perfect," Tony, putting his sunglasses back on, "I'll be there at eleven."

"Absolutely!"

Primrose frowned confusedly at her dad's words, he was going to be late for dinner.

"Is this us?" He pointed at a table next to the window.

"It can be," Natalie stated, her arms folded behind her back.

"Great, make it us, Prim likes sitting by the window," her dad nodded, and Natalie stepped aside to tap a waiter on the arm.

Meanwhile, Pepper had walked up to a man in a white suit jacket, "Mr. Musk," she greeted him, "How are you?"

"Hi, Pepper," the man called Mr. Musk said, "Congratulations on the promotion."

Primrose looked at him and didn't like the look on his face when he told her that.

"Thank you very much," Pepper politely told him.

Tony interjected as he spotted them, he moved closer with Primrose holding still holding his hand, at this point she realized that her dad was not letting go of her, "Elon! Hows it going?" he asked, getting up to shake the man's hand in his turn. "Those Merlin engines are fantastic."

"Thank you," he said appreciatively, "I've got an idea for an electric jet."

"You do? Then we'll make it work," her dad said, moving away as Pepper sighed, causing Tony to ask, "do you want a massage?"

"Oh God," Pepper sighed, "no I don't want a massage,"

"I can have Natalie call someone," he started, "don't want you tense."

"Are you okay, Pepper?" Primrose asked carefully, her tone full of worry.

Pepper smiled at her, "I'm fine," then at Tony, "I don't want Natalie to do anything," she insisted.

"By the way, I didn't mean to spring this on you," Tony went on as the three walked toward the bar, Tony finally let go of Primrose's hand but she stuck close to them, standing between the two adults and trying to understand their conversation.

"- thank you very much," Pepper laughed as she adjusted the green tie he was referring to.

"But green is not your best color," said Tony, coming around to stand in front of Pepper.

"Anthony? Is that you?" Justin Hammer suddenly said, appearing out of nowhere, "And lookie here, Primrose Stark!"

"Evans-Stark," the little girl quickly corrected, finding the man's presence surprising.

"My least favorite person on earth – Justin Hammer," Tony sighed before smiling ironically at the man as Hammer tapped him on his shoulder. Primrose found his words rude, but it's not like she liked Justin anyways. He was fake.

"How're ya doin'?" grinned Hammer, "You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car," He pointed back over his shoulder, "You know Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair, you guys know each other?"

Tony glared at Pepper, who seemed to be finding this slightly amusing.

"Hi, yes!" Christine greeted them cordially, with a perfect fake smile on her face.

"Hi, yes, we do," Pepper returned, more politely than warmly.

"Yes, roughly," Tony stated, regarding Christine rather warily.

Primrose looked at the woman and said the first thing that came to her mind, "My mom doesn't like you," she stated quite loudly and honestly, making Tony smirk and Christine smile tightly.

"Oh, that's too bad." Christine managed to reply to her awkwardly.

"BTW," Hammer said, changing the subject, pointing at Pepper, "big story. The new CEO of Stark Industries! Congratulations!"

"I know. I know," Christine started as Tony started glaring hatefully towards Hammer, "my editor will kill me if I don't grab a quote for our next issue. Can I?"

"Oh, sure," Pepper said reluctantly, clearly remembering how the reporter had treated her when she had still just been Tony's P.A.

"She's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair," Hammer bragged, chuffed at being relevant for once, "I thought I'd throw her a bone, you know."

Primrose made a face at that statement.

"Right," said Pepper, looking from Hammer to Christine, "Well, she did quite a spread on Tony last year."

"And she wrote a story as well," Tony finished, thinking that if Pepper was going to set that up when he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by.

"It was very impressive -" onscreen Pepper interjected.

"That was good," Tony went on.

Primrose was oblivious to what they were talking about, she was actually starting to get upset. She doesn't remember a story about her daddy, she would have read it!

"- very well done," finished Pepper. ("Thank you!" Christine said) "So, I'm gonna–" She moved to step away.

"Don't leave me," Tony muttered unexpectedly.

"– go wash," Pepper finished severely, and walked off.

"Don't worry daddy, I'm still here!" Primrose piped in happily, holding his hand again.

Tony went from panicky to relieved as he squeezed her hand thankfully, "Don't leave me."

"I won't!"

"Hey, buddy, how're ya doing?" Hammer slid an arm around Tony's shoulders, "Kids, aren't they great when they're younger? Just wait until she becomes a teen, then she won't want you around!"

"Very funny! I'm alright," her dad lied.

"Looking gorgeous," Hammer commented, "And Primrose is looking cute!" he smiled at her.

But her response was to hide behind her dad just when a camera flashed from somewhere in front of them, making Tony and Primrose grimace. Reaching for his sunglasses and sliding them back on, he regretted not bringing his daughter's as well, "Please, this is tough," he protested.

"Can I ask you" Christine started as Hammer leaned closer to Tony and Primrose for a photo.

Primrose was definitely uncomfortable.

"Fromage!" Hammer interjected cheerfully, smiling at the camera. "Say, Brie!"

"that you guys have seen each other?" the reporter continued.

"Oh, God, that's so awful," Tony said, laughing fakely and shoving Hammer's arm off him as Hammer gave a genuine laugh.

"Daddy I wanna go" Primrose whined as she tugged his hand, he looked down at her and her uncomfortable expression made him want to take her away from here immediately.

"Listen," Christine said, "is this the first time you've seen each other since the Senate?"

"Uh, since he got his contract revoked," Tony remarked happily, straightening his fine suit-jacket and turning to lead the way to take his daughter away from the situation, to a table which was not the one hed asked Natalie to set aside for him earlier.

"Actually, its on hold -" Hammer followed Tony, obviously still chagrined about the incident.

Primrose wanted him to stop following them. She almost shouted if it wasn't for her dad holding her hand.

"That's not what I heard, what's the difference between hold and canceled?" Tony said, ignoring him.

"Yes, what is?" Christine asked, holding her Dictaphone up to Hammer instead of Stark as she realized this was a good question.

Hammer made a swatting gesture at the recorder as he sat down at the table, "No. The truth is" Hammer paused here, clearly knowing he didn't have an answer, "why don't we put that away? The truth is, I'm actually hoping to present something at your Expo," He picked up a glass that seemed to be full of deep yellow wine and took a drink from it.

"Well," Tony said, eyeing Hammer skeptically. "if you invent something that works, I'll make sure I'll get you a slot."

Just then, Primrose noticed Natalie's pink dress appeared behind her dad's shoulder, and the low, husky voice said, "Mr. Stark?"

"Yes?" Tony said, quickly getting up and gesturing Primrose to do the same.

"Your corner table is ready," Natalie informed him and Prim, smiling up at them. Tony, with Primrose holding his hand, followed her away from Hammers table gladly enough.

She regretted doing it as soon as she turned around again, now she felt bad about her actions.

"I actually have a slot this year, yes I do," Hammer remarked, getting comfortable in his chair.

"Hammer needs a slot, Christine," Tony teased her over his shoulder as he went, pointing and giving her one of his globally prized smiles. Primrose looked behind her and stuck her tongue out at Hammer, leaving the man stunned for a few seconds.

"We kid - yeah!" Hammer laughed after recovering from that to cover his annoyance, "We kid, were kidders."

When they got to the corner table, Primrose chose a seat that abled her to look outside of the window better, "Do you think your car is going to win, daddy?"

Tony hummed, still standing up. He had a distant look on his face, she called out his name again, "Uh? Oh, yeah, it might. Uh" he smiled tightly, "Daddy needs to use the potty, be right back, okay?"

She nodded, "Okay daddy," Primrose noticed that he seemed slightly off.

"Natalie, could you watch over her for a few moments?" he asked, addressing the redhead.

"Certainly, Mr. Stark," she smiled at Primrose and sat next to her, "So, what's your favorite color?" she asked as Tony moved out of the table, toward the restrooms.

"I like red, like Iron Man!"

* * *

Inside the restroom, Tony pricked his finger on his Stark Medical Scanner device, and the words  **BLOOD TOXICITY: 53%**  flashed across the screen. Tony gave a small wince and shook his hand, they saw that he was standing in front of a large mirror. His shirt was unbuttoned just enough to see the Arc Reactor, surrounded by the pale, translucent flesh and the dark blue, almost black veins. He looked at the device, and then down at his finger, which he briefly put into his mouth. Then he placed his hands on the marble countertop in front of the mirror and gazed down for a long moment.

"Got any other bad ideas?" he asked himself. Then he remembered Primrose, and his eyes teared up, "Shit I'm sorry, honey."

* * *

Primrose was sitting on her table, drawing on a paper with a pencil (Natalie had been able to find them quickly) when she noticed her dad leave the restroom. At first, she smiled at him, expecting him to join her for her to show him her newest drawing, but then he gave her a haunted expression – a regretful one.

She lost her smile, and when he instead walked toward the exit and left the building, Primrose was speechless.

"Daddy?" she whispered to herself, clueless of what just happened.

* * *

Next moment, surrounded by security guards, photographers, and eager fans, Tony was outside striding toward the race track, dressed in a blue and black jumpsuit with the name "Stark" stitched in white letters across the front. He jumped over the low wall and onto the race track, still seeing Primrose's face in his mind.

_'She's going to be disappointed'_  he thought,  _'What the hell I am doing? I should go back inside, be with her as much as I can'_  he continued screaming at himself in his thoughts.

Back at the hotel's dining room, a television was streaming Tony live behind Justin Hammers head as he continued what was obviously an ongoing interview. "Tony and I - I love Tony Stark," he said magnanimously, "Tony loves me. Were not competitors. Him being out of the picture created tremendous opportunities for Hammer Industries, you know? Everything that Tony and I do -"

Primrose was sulking on her seat when Pepper joined her at the table. She didn't ask her about her dad's whereabouts so Primrose thought Pepper knew where her daddy went instead of being here, with them.

"Is everything okay, sweetie?" Pepper asked, feeling the sadness coming out of the little girl.

Christine's eyes had traveled up to the screen almost automatically, and at this moment Hammer noticed this. His head swiveled round to look at what she was looking at, even as he tried to continue to speak. "- is a healthy - competition -"

On the television, Tony turned to face the camera, "Well, what's the use of having and owning a race car," he asked, pausing for the translator next to him, "if you don't drive it?"

The crowd on the other side of the low wall cheered as if he had said something profound. Primrose's face lit up when she heard her dad's voice on the television, so instead of replying to Pepper, she just awed at the screen.

"Is he driving?" Hammer asked in surprise, turning back to Christine.

Pepper, had caught sight of the footage as well. Her eyes widened as Tony walked up to the man who had clearly been going to drive Tony's race car and spoke to him.

"Daddy is going to drive the car?!" Primrose exclaimed, she was grinning excitedly when she looked at Pepper, "Is this a surprise?!" maybe her daddy planned this all along!

"N-No! It's not sweetie!" Pepper replied as she looked frantically around, "Natalie? Natalie!" she called, beckoning.

Primrose lost her excited expression, replacing it with a confused one. She continued looking at the television.

"Yes, Miss Potts?" Natalie appeared by Peppers side as if by magic.

"Did you know about this?" Pepper asked her, giving her a look wondering if she had known about it beforehand.

"This is the first that I've known of it," Natalie responded.

"I saw daddy leave the restroom and then he looked at me weirdly before leaving" Primrose mumbled, more lost than ever and for some reason she couldn't understand, feeling sad.

Pepper gave Primrose a startled look, "Looked at you weirdly?" she looked back at the television just in time to see the name Defilipo erased from the list of contestants and replaced with the name Stark, "This cannot happen," she stated nervously.

"Absolutely, I understand," Natalie said quickly, "How can I help you?"

"Where's Happy?" Pepper asked.

"He's waiting outside," the other redhead told her.

"Okay, get him, I need Happy," Pepper said, more relieved.

"Right away," Natalie stated before disappearing.

"Is daddy in trouble?" Primrose asked nervously.

"No, but he's going to be," Pepper told her through gritted teeth.

Primrose noticed her godmother was beginning to shake a little, so she reached for her hand and placed her smaller one on top of Pepper's, "It's okay, it's going to be okay." she comforted as best as she could, earning a gentle smile from Pepper.

"Thank you, sweetie," she told her goddaughter in a gentle manner, but then Peppers eyes widened with horror when she looked back at the television.

Primrose looked as well and saw a man standing in the middle of the race track. He threw off his helmet and pulled open his orange jacket, under which he wore no shirt – but the Arc Reactor he had built gleamed brightly in the middle of his chest, "That's" the seven-year-old began, but she became speechless and scared when his arms came down, and in each of his hands was now a length of steel which crackled and sparked with electricity.

"Pepper?" Primrose's voice sounded so small and fearfully, "What's going on?"

The whole back of the man's jacket was burned away by something underneath, which turned out to be a harness-like device that he had fitted over his body and arms to accommodate the Arc Reactor and the whips. There was no armor, like her dad's Iron Man Suit. His device was clearly built for a single purpose - to kill.

Then, as a driver came screeching toward the man, he stepped forward and raised his arm, bringing one of the whips down across the front of the race car. The whole front right corner of the car snapped completely off as neatly as a pair of scissors cuts a sheet of paper, and the rest of the car flipped up into the air and went spinning down the road before going up in a burst of fire.

Primrose screamed and covered her eyes as the watchers in the dining room gasped in horror, with the notable exception of Hammer, whose gaze was sharply alert.

Pepper hugged her closely and looked anxiously around. There, in the doorway of the room, stood Happy with the shiny red and silver briefcase, signalizing they had to go.

"Natalie!" Pepper yelled.

"Yes?" the redhead quickly approached her again.

"Please, p-please watch over Primrose!" Pepper ordered urgently as she got up from her seat.

"NO! Don't leave me!" Primrose cried, tears falling from her eyes, "Is that man after my daddy?!"

Pepper had to be quick, "Sweetie, listen, there's an Iron Man suit in that case that Happy is holding. I need you to be brave while we go take it to your dad so he can stop that bad man, okay?"

Primrose sobbed, "O-Okay" she had to be a big girl.

"I'll watch over her, don't worry Ms. Potts." Natalie quickly assured her.

Pepper nodded at her and kissed Primrose's head before leaving with Happy.

Sitting next to a sobbing child, Natalie seemed to have switched from a nervous looking assistant to a serious looking woman.

"Don't worry Primrose, everything will be okay. Try to control your breathing or you might have an asthma attack," the gently told the little girl as she patted her back.

Primrose merely hugged her, "N-Natalie," she sniffed, "My daddy is acting weird"

Natalie tensed up, "I know." she awkwardly hugged her back, genuinely not knowing what she was doing.

"You do?" she confusedly stated, "How?" looking up at her, Primrose had stopped crying, but her cheeks were still red and her brown eyes were still teared up.

"No reason. Nevermind, let's focus on your breathing, okay?"

Primrose nodded obediently, "Okay"

Then everyone suddenly gasped with horror again and when Primrose quickly looked at the television again she saw a blue car with 'Stark' spinning through the air.

"Shit," Natalie muttered, but Primrose was too shocked to even react to the swear. She stopped hugging Natalie and stood up on her chair to look better at the television.

"DADDY!" she howled.

The car landed upside down and everyone could see Tony beginning to struggle out of its ruins. Primrose's eyes were only focusing on her dad.

The man that had just attacked her dad walked toward what was left of the race car in no hurry. Tony pulled off his helmet and stared at him (upside down, of course) as if not quite believing his eyes. More drivers came within sight of the man and tried to turn around or stop, but the moment they came within about five feet of him, they all exploded violently, outlining his frame in fire and smoke.

In the dining room, everyone watching gasped in horror again – except Hammer – and Primrose tried not to start crying again, but she did feel her body tremble with fear. Why was this man doing horrible things? Who was he?!

Everyone watched as the man marched up to Tony's car, and swung his whip straight down the middle of it. But when the two pieces fell apart, Tony was nowhere to be seen. Primrose looked relieved for a moment until, from behind, she saw her dad ramming the man on the head with part of a car door. He turned quick as lightning and swung his whips again. Tony's makeshift weapon flew out of his hands and he went tumbling to the ground.

"RUN DADDY!" Primrose bellowed, fearing for his life now more than ever.

The bad man brought down one of his whips, and Primrose squeaked as he dad rolled aside just in time. Tony scooted backward until he swung the whip again, and again he rolled out of the way. Primrose's breathing has become irregular and she knows what was coming, but she didn't realize it because she was focused on her dad.

The camera showed Tony scrambling to his feet and make a bolt for the remains of another car, he tried to jump up on top of it as the bad man swung for him again. He missed and fell flat on his back on the ground. He groaned in pain and tried to re-orient himself.

"Primrose you're having an asthma attack," Natalie quickly stated, "I'll go get your emergency inhaler."

Primrose didn't listen to her, she was too worried about her dad for that.

The little girl noticed that the bad man was once again in no hurry. He took his time walking up to her dad and started cracking the ground with his whips like a child at play, practically skipping in glee. Primrose glared at the man on the television, how can he be so cruel?

Then, just as the man brought down the whips on the car her dad was hiding, everyone saw Tony jumping up and sprang away just in time. The car suddenly went up in flames, and Primrose realized her dad must've thought about a plan beforehand.

She watched her dad steady himself after the explosion, then Primrose anxiously saw as he realized that his arm was on fire and hastily beginning beating at the flames, but by this time the murderous man had seen him and was again coming upon him.

"WATCH OUT!" Primrose yelled as if her dad could hear her.

Tony managed to put out the fire, and he backed away as he came on him yet again. But at that moment a black shape tore around the bend and came flying into view, startling Primrose before she recognized it. Her dad seemed to have known too since he made a dash for the fence and swung himself up to it. He did not get very far, but he did get far enough to avoid the bad man's fate of being smashed into the railing by Happy.

The camera showed her dad talking to Happy and it seemed like they were yelling at each other. Primrose tried to understand what they were saying when Natalie came back with her inhaler. It was at that moment when Primrose realized that she was struggling to breathe, so she took the inhaler and it was handed to her and shook it to inhale the medicine.

"Remember to control your breathing, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth," Natalie gently advised, and Primrose did exactly what she said.

She was feeling better but her eyes never left the screen, her dad seemed to continue yelling while going around the car, as he flung open the back door the murderous whip had split it right down the middle.

"He's alive!" Primrose screeched as she dropped her inhaler, startling Natalie.

Her dad reeled back in surprise. And Primrose, knowing it was him behind the wheel, watched Happy instantly back the car up and slamming the bad man into the fence again.

Primrose winced at the brutality, but all she wanted was for this nightmare to end. Obadiah had to die, "Do they have to kill him?" she asked Natalie fearfully.

Natalie was looking at the television with a serious expression before nodding, "Maybe."

She watched as Happy kept reversing and slamming the car against the man over and over, her dad seemed to be trying to reach for something inside the all the movement didn't allow him. Then suddenly the man brought down one of the whips right down the front and middle of the car, which didn't split it immediately but obviously damaged it pretty badly. Now Primrose was worried about Happy and Pepper as well. She saw her dad yell again even as the man trying to kill him twirled his whips for another strike – this time it took off half the top of the car with one stroke.

"Oh no," Primrose whined. Natalie tensed up again.

Everyone then saw a case being thrown out of the car. It landed on the ground and slid to her dad who put his foot on the handle.

And then the briefcase opened to reveal many folded layers of red and silver.

It was indeed a Suit, just like Primrose suspected, obviously designed to be easily transported without attracting suspicion, in case of emergencies like this. It unfolded partly as Tony bent down and grasped two more handles. He pulled the main part of the Suit up and put it on his chest, stretching out his arms as the gold-titanium mesh and outer shell fitted itself over his arms, down his back, around his legs, and finally, over his head. The Arc Reactor glowed brightly as the Suit connected to it. The civilians who were still in the stands cried out and rushed forward to look at Iron Man as he appeared before their eyes. Primrose cheered a little when her dad kicked away the car with one foot and sent it skidding into the fence on the other side of the track. Then he turned to deal with the murderous man, who glared back at him. Obviously, this was not going nearly so smoothly as planned.

"GO, DADDY! KICK HIS BUTT!" Primrose screamed, making some reporters look at her interestingly.

Tony stretched out his left hand and shot a beam of energy at the man just as he swung his whip. The end of the whip curled around Tony's hand and sent him reeling. Then he swung the other whip and grazed the front of the Suit just below her dad's Arc Reactor.

Primrose saw her dad glance down at himself and could feel his alarm, and then raised his right hand (all the systems in the left hand were completely ruined). He shot another beam at the bad man, who deflected with another swing of his whip. Primrose scowled at him, still knowing her daddy – Iron Man – could do this.

Then Ivan twirled both whips, and one wrapped around her dad's right arm and the other around his neck, crackling.

Then the man jerked at the whips and flung Tony to the ground (Primrose jerked involuntarily). Her dad managed to climb to his feet, but he seemed unable to shake off the whips, the man flung him again. This time he landed on the front of the torn-up car in front of Happy and Pepper.

"No" the little girl meekly said.

Natalie frowned, "C'mon"

The man dragged her dad down to the ground and pulled hard on the whip curled around the neck of the Suit. The viewers all held their breath anxiously but Primrose felt like her breathing got faster as the titanium hissed and sparked, but did not break.

But Tony pulled himself to his feet and curled part of the crackling steel rope around his arm, he then spun round to wrap another length of the whip around his body, and another and another until at last he was right up on the man, ducking under the swing of his other whip. Then her dad grabbed him by the front of the harness-like half Suit and slammed him down on the ground.

"YES!" Primrose cheered.

As the bad man lay stunned and stirring only feebly, she saw her dad bend down and yank the Arc Reactor powering the man's half-suit. Everyone in the dining room watched as police and medical help started to approach the racing track now that was safe, and it was over. Everyone cheered for Iron Man and Primrose sat down again, still shaking from shock and fear.

"Everything is okay, Primrose, your dad won." Natalie comforted her, patting her head.

Primrose's lips trembled, "Did he?"

The seven-year-old knew for a fact that this might not be over, it was never that easy.

* * *

**_One hour later_ **

Tonys guide opened a solid-looking door into a blank, impenetrable room with gray walls that somehow managed to look as if they had no color at all. He gave Tony a warning as he stepped inside – alone.

Tony let the door fall shut behind him. Ivan Vanko sat on the bench with his back to the door. He wore nothing but a pair of boxers that were probably a standard issue, and in the cheerless light, Tony saw the tattoos all over his body like a written history of brutality and suffering.

For a few seconds, there was silence as Tony walked slowly forward with his hands in his pockets.

"Pretty decent tech," he said at length, "Cycles per second were a little low." He drew level with Ivan at length, "You could have doubled up your rotations," he went on as he came around to face Ivan, "You focused the repulsor energy through ionized plasma channels. It's effective, not very efficient. Passable knockoff."

Tony walked up to the bench and actually sat down on the other end of it. "I don't get it," he pressed, "A little fine-tuning, you could've made a solid paycheck. Could've sold it to North Korea, China, Iran, or go right to the black market."

Ivan, who had so far sat still and silent, had now turned his head, and his lips curled in an amused smirk.

"You look like you've got friends in low places," Tony stated, looking steadily into Ivans' face.

Then, at last, Ivan spoke, in perfect, if accented, English, "You come from a family of thieves and butchers," he said softly, and now, like all guilty men, you try to re-write your own history. And you forget all the lives the Stark family has destroyed."

"Speaking of thieves," Tony said, and his eyes hardened. "Where did you get this design?" he asked.

But Ivan merely watched Tony intently, "My father, Anton Vanko,"

"Well, I never heard of him," Tony stated dismissively, but his eyes did not soften.

Ivans' eyes dropped to the Arc Reactor gleaming through Tony's black shirt, "My father," he said. "is the reason you're alive."

"The reason I'm alive is because you had a shot, you took it, and missed." Tony retorted.

"Did I?" Ivan keenly asked, and the smirk flickered again. Tony did not reply.

"If you can make God bleed," Ivan began, "then people will cease to believe in him. And there will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come," He leaned back. "The truth? All I have to do is sit here and watch as the world will consume you."

"Where will you be watching the world consume me from?" Tony asked rhetorically, "Oh, that's right, a prison cell." He stood up, "I'll send you a bar of soap."

"Hey, Tony, before you go," Ivan said, and Tony paused on his way to the door.

"Palladium in the chest - painful way to die," Ivan started, "How did your daughter take it? Is she sleeping well?"

Tony stiffened and rapped on the door to be let out rather more sharply than necessary.

As the door closed behind the American, the Russian gave a laugh of triumph.

* * *

**_Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean  
Stark Private Jetplane_ **

**_Five hours later_ **

Primrose slept soundly in a surprisingly comfortable-looking chair on a luxurious-looking plane across from the television. She had been emotionally drained from what happened in Monaco, after hugging her dad in a clingy manner, she had cried herself to sleep when they arrived at the private jet.

Pepper looked at the little one and sighed when she realized who was speaking on the television, it was Senator Stern.

_"It's just unbelievable,"_  he said.  _"It proves that the genie is out of the bottle, and this man has no idea what he's doing. He thinks of the Iron Man weapon as a toy!_ **"**

Behind her, in the doorway of the rear cabin, Tony appeared with a covered plate. He paused when he saw who was on.

_"I was at a hearing,"_  continued Stern.  _"where Mr. Stark, in fact, was adamant that these suits can't exist anywhere else, don't exist anywhere else, never will exist anywhere else, at least for five to ten years. And here we are in Monaco, realizing, uh-oh, these suits exist now."_

"Mute," Tony ordered, and the television obediently silenced itself.

"He should be giving me a medal," Tony stated, advancing into the room with the dish and sitting down with it across from Pepper, "That's the truth," He put down the dish on a tiny table between their seats and produced a napkin-wrapped fork and knife, which he set down on the ledge next to Pepper, "Is she still out?" Tony looked at his daughter and it became hard to swallow for a second. She looked so fragile. He did this to her.

"Yes," Pepper replied, her voice soft, "What is that?" she curiously asked, looking at the plate.

"This is your in-flight meal," he replied, lifting the dish to reveal what looked more like a chemical reaction than something to eat. It looked like there might be egg or cheese or both, and there was something green mixed in that was probably spinach, and the little brown things were almost certainly portobello mushrooms, "I did enough for Prim too but she fell asleep so I only brought your plate." he added.

Pepper looked from the so-called omelet to Tony, "Did you just make that?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, where do you think I've been for three hours?" Tony spread his free arm, looking proud at himself.

"Tony," she started, looking him straight in the face. "What are you not telling me?"

This was the moment Primrose decided to pretend to be asleep, she felt bad but she had just woken up seconds ago and was too tired to even open her eyes. But as soon as Pepper made that question, falling asleep again was not an option, her back was turned to them so even if she was bad at pretending to be asleep – they wouldn't notice.

Tony turned his head and looked out the window next to him. The sun was setting, and its light slanted through the pane, brightening and softening his dark hair while it set Peppers ablaze in a halo of bright red and deep gold.

"I don't want to go home," Tony said at length. "At all." Primrose wanted to hug her dad just by hearing his voice, "Let's cancel my birthday party, and, ah were in Europe, let's go to Venice, Cipriani. Remember? We can take Prim there, I'll call Emma. I don't her first trip to be traumatizing as this one was!"

Pepper chuckled, "Oh, yes."

"It's a great place to be healthy," his eyes fell upon the sleeping form of his daughter, "Create good memories"

"I don't think this is the right time," Pepper told him, and her brow creased with lines of care, "Were in kind of a mess."

"Yeah, but maybe that's why its the best time," he insisted, "Cause then we –"

"Well," Pepper interrupted patiently, "I think, as the CEO, I need to show up."

"As CEO," Tony remarked, "You are entitled to a-a leave." He glanced cautiously back up at Pepper.

Primrose felt anxious about them, her dad didn't answer Pepper's question and now he didn't want to go back, why?

"A leave?" inquired Pepper more sharply.

"A company retreat," Tony amended hastily.

"A retreat?" repeated Pepper. "During a time like this?"

"Well, I'm just saying, to recharge our batteries and figure it all out."

Pepper leaned back against her seat, "Not everybody runs on batteries, Tony," she said softly.

Primrose sadly agreed.

Tony smiled sadly and looked away. The plane glided through the evening sky, along with what he was unable to tell her. It would've been perfect, just the two of them and with Primrose asleep. But he couldn't do it, and now he had to apologize to Primrose for what he did to her in Monaco.

But now it was time to go home and celebrate his last birthday.


	19. Chaotic Birthday Party - IM2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The transcript is by 'Karma Rue Lovegood Everdeen', 'ElrondsScribe' and the movie belongs to Marvel.
> 
> WARNING: PLEASE DON'T POST ANY 'AVENGERS: ENDGAME' SPOILERS IN THE REVIEWS. I HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET AND SOME PEOPLE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WATCH IT SOON EITHER. 
> 
> This is a sad chapter.

**_May 26th, 2009  
Location: Hunters Point_ **

**_Tuesday  
7:33 PM_ **

"Mommy, can I learn French?"

Emma Evans, aged almost thirty, was just done with taking out the Chinese takeout packages from the plastic bag when Primrose suddenly approached her from the living room. She smiled at her daughter, surprised at the question, but when she remembered the adventure her daughter had two days ago in Monaco, Emma stopped being dumbfounded.

"Why?" Emma asked while putting Primrose's sweet and sour pork and chow mein on a plate, "Do you want beef dumplings?" she quickly added.

Emma saw Primrose nod at her food question before she answered, "Daddy knows how to speak French, I want to learn too." she recalls when Natalie took her back to her dad when it was safe, he had hugged her tightly and actually even carried her (even though Prim thought she was too big for that, she didn't mind, she had been shaking and scared at the time), so she heard her dad talk fluent French with the police that took Ivan Vanko into custody, she was still traumatized by then but Primrose was actually amazed at the same time.

The psychologist's expression became sour on her face when Primrose mentioned her father. She gave him quite an earful when he arrived back to America, they talked for an hour on the phone – but Emma was the one that did all the yelling. Tony just apologized many times and let her vent, telling her that she was right and calling himself reckless and stupid over and over. Of course that after calming down, Emma told Tony that he wasn't stupid. The only idiotic thing he did was try to race his own car – because the Ivan Vanko incident had not been his fault at all, no one could've predicted him.

When Tony told Emma about Ivan Vanko, she felt her skin crawl when he said that Ivan mentioned Primrose. She didn't want that psychopath thinking about her baby girl, after what she watched live on television Emma didn't want him near her.

Good thing he died in a mysterious explosion inside his cell, she saw it yesterday on the news. Good riddance.

"Well, I'm not against it. We can find you a tutor specialized in languages. I'll talk to your dad, okay?" Emma told her sincerely. Last year Primrose had been interested in ballet, but when she talked about having classes with her daughter Primrose had already moved on.

The only interests her daughter still carried were drawing and being a space pirate one day. Her love for 'Planet Treasure' was still active.

Primrose, normally a bundle of joy, seemed satisfied with her mom's promise, "I also wanna learn Italian, Russian and Latin!" she quickly added.

Emma raised her eyebrow in an inquiring way as she grabbed a fork and a knife for her daughter, "Why?"

"Because Ms. Rushman knows those languages! And she's cool! She kicked Happy's butt," Primrose explained as her mom handed her the plate, "I want to learn how to kick butt so I can be like Kim Possible!" she added before leaving to the living room to sit by the television, as always.

Ah, Natalie Rushman. Emma didn't know what to think about her yet, she had no opinion about the notary public. Pepper told her that Natalie watched over Primrose while she and Happy went to deliver Tony's travel Iron Man suit, that was enough for Emma to at least consider Natalie as a trustworthy person.

Primrose sat on her pillow by the coffee table, this girl no longer used an actual chair to eat, and placed her plate there, the television was already set on Disney Channel, and to her delight, the show 'Phineas and Ferb' was on.

Emma came out of the kitchen with her own plate five minutes later, she sat down on the couch and smiled when her daughter laughed at a scene from her cartoon. Hearing Primrose laugh in these trying times was always welcomed, especially when her daughter has been a little off lately. Emma thought that maybe the seven-year-old was tired. She traveled a lot during these days and even though she didn't spend the night in France perhaps jetlag might've affected her slightly.

That was what Emma believed in, to remain positive that nothing serious was wrong with her daughter.

* * *

**_May 27th_ **

**_Wednesday  
12:40 AM_ **

_"French? She wants to learn French?"_  Tony repeated over the phone, making Emma roll her eyes.

"Yeah, and also Italian, Russian and guess what: Latin."

Primrose was long gone asleep, and Emma was lying her in bed ready to sleep too. But she decided to give Tony a quick call because she was three hours ahead of his timezone.

 _"Oh, I think Ms. Rushman as left an impact on our daughter,"_  Tony said,  _"But if my baby wants to learn languages then I'll hire the best teachers."_

Emma chuckled, "Let her learn just French for now, learning so many languages at the same time can be overwhelming for a seven-year-old. If she wants to learn another language then we'll see."

 _"I started having French classes when I was four years old, did you know I also know fluent Japanese, Russian and some Middle Eastern languages? Though Urdu isn't my strong suit."_ *****  He told her with a narcissistic tone, _"Learning other languages is part of the Stark gene."_

Emma smirked, "And I know Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Because my maternal grandma is actually Portuguese."

 _"Wait, wait– what?! You have a Portuguese family?!"_  Tony exclaimed,  _"And I didn't know you spoke Italian!"_

"Seven years we know each other, are you sure I never told you about this?" Emma questioned, feeling slightly guilty.

_"Where do they live?!"_

She sighed, "It doesn't matter Tony, I haven't seen or talked with them in ten years," Emma mumbled, it wasn't like she didn't miss her mom's side of the family, but they never really connected when she was a child and when her parents and her stopped going to Portugal to visit them they were kind off left behind within her childhood memories, "I don't even know if my grandma is even alive."

_"That's heavy,"_

"Anyways, so we're letting Prim learn French?"

_"Oui, madam. Cela va être incroyable!"_

"I may not know fluent French but strangely I understood what you just said," Emma smiled when she heard him chuckle a little, which was rare nowadays, "So Tony you're turning thirty-nine in two days, how do you feel?"

There was a long pause on the other side, Emma could feel him hold his breath before he let out a long, tired sigh.

_"I feel like I don't want a birthday party."_

Emma straightened up, "Then don't! You're not forced to throw expensive parties for every birthday you have," she stated with a soft tone.

_"I know Em, but"_

"Listen to me, sweetheart, you don't always have to put yourself out there just because the world expects you to. Just come here, spend the day with Primrose! Take her out, somewhere," she quickly said, her tone still gentle.

 _"Emma! It's fine, I want to have this party. You and Prim are still coming, right?"_  he rushed out, bringing back his normal, quipping tone.

Emma disliked his sudden change of demeanor, it was very unhealthy. But she had a feeling that bringing that up now would result in an argument. So she decided to give up for now and let him win. She was getting sleepy, anyway.

"We are of course. We might arrive a little late though since I still have to work that day." Emma informed him.

 _"Party starts at eight and I'll send Happy with a Stark Jet two hours before, I hope you bring me a gift. Nothing fancy, just you know, Primrose wearing Iron Man merch or whatever,"_ He quipped, but his voice also carried hope.

"She has an Iron Man toothbrush and toothpaste, pajamas, two mugs, a comforter, and an Iron Man purse shaped like the helmet. You want me to give her an Iron Man dress?" Emma quipped back, smirking when he laughed.

_"My daughter deserves her own VIP merch. I'll work on it. I'm gonna let you sleep now since it's probably one in the morning over there."_

Emma looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand and blinked tiredly when the red numbers read '1:22 A.M', "Yeah, it's getting late. I'll see you in two days."

 _"Yeah, you will,"_  Tony said, somehow resigned.

"And Tony?"

_"Yeah?"_

"You know you can tell me anything, right? I'm here to listen."

 _"I know. Sleep well Em,"_  with that, he hung up and Emma placed her phone next to the alarm clock before turning off her lamp.

She then lied down on her bed and covered herself until the neck, getting comfortable and warm at the same time. She closed her eyes and tried to not think about anything to induce sleep, but her mind would drift off to Tony no matter what. She was concerned about him, about her daughter and about the obvious big secret being kept from her. If Emma was being honest with herself, she hoped it wasn't anything serious.

* * *

**_May 29th_ **

**_Tony's age: 39 years old._ **

**_Friday  
9:33 PM_ **

Primrose grinned when Happy pulled over by her dad's mansion. The party inside seemed to be already going for hours for one that started only an hour ago, the little girl kept bouncing on her seat, excited to give her dad his birthday gift and for him to react to what she was wearing. It wasn't an Iron Man dress, but it was the dress that he had brought from Genoa for her when he went to Italy four months ago to destroy the rest of the stolen weapon shipment from him taken by what was left of the Ten Rings. ******

She had been very proud of him.

Happy drove down to her dad's garage and as soon as he parked and turned off the engine, Primrose unbuckled her seatbelt and bolted out of the car, going straight upstairs.

"Primrose, wait!" Her mom called as she took got out of the car, halting her steps.

Huffing, the little girl turned to her mom with a pout, "But I want to see daddy! I want to show him my special birthday gift for him!"

Emma's smiling lines appeared when she raised her lips upwards, "How about to get your baggage to your bedroom first? I'm sure your dad isn't going anywhere."

Happy was already by the trunk, getting Primrose's baggage, "Not necessary, I got it." he said.

"See? He's got it!" Primrose stated before rushing out of the garage, "Hi JARVIS!" Emma and Happy heard her voice echo as she used the stairs to get on the upper floor.

_"Welcome home, Ms. Evans-Stark." the A.I replied, quite happily._

Emma gave Happy an apologetic look, "Sorry, she's really excited about Tony's gift. I helped her a little."

He shrugged, at this point, that kid could step on him and he wouldn't mind, "It's fine, really. I'll take this to her bedroom. Meet you later?"

"Yep, I still need to fly back to New York and I'd like some company if you don't mind."

* * *

Primrose immediately became overwhelmed by the number of people inside her daddy's house. The mansion looked small now, she managed to pass through unrecognizable by being small and not drawing attention. Luckily, all the adults here were almost drunk, or already, and were busy enjoying their lucky time at Tony Stark's birthday party.

She was confused though, don't you invited friends to birthday parties? Were these people her dad's friends? She never met them, the only friend she acknowledged was her uncle Rhodey and her godmother, Pepper. And Happy too, of course.

Who were these people?

In search of her dad, Primrose hugged her small box with a shiny red wrapping paper and a golden bow in a protective manner, she didn't want any of these strangers bumping into her and cause it to be dropped.

Finally, when she reached the lobby where more noise seemed to be coming from, she heard people cheer as the sound of spinning records being spun too randomly. When she was able to pass the crowd and get to the front, she grinned widely when she finally saw her daddy dressed fully as Iron Man, even with the faceplate up.

That was confusing, but everyone was cheering so maybe her dad was just goofing around?

She watched her daddy dance around and fist-bump the actual DJ, who shook his hand about with a grimace afterward, obviously fist bumping the suit was uncomfortable.

Suddenly a hand touched her shoulder and pulled her back next to the room next to where they were, Primrose was ready to squeal when she saw it was Pepper – carrying an exasperated expression.

"You scared me!" Primrose squeaked out.

"Sorry sweetie, I just don't want you too close to that right now," Pepper sighed.

"That?" she asked confusedly. Her daddy was just having fun, what was wrong with that?

Before any of them could say anything, Rhodey approached the two with a tense expression on his face, he looked down at Primrose and managed to smile a little before ruffling her hair.

"Hey there, baby girl,"

"Hi uncle Rhodey, long time no see!" she grinned.

He smiled at her, then looked at the new CEO, "Hey, Pepper,"

"I'm...I'm going to get some air, please watch over her for a while," Pepper replied, panicked.

"What's going on?" Rhodey asked, concerned.

Pepper rounded the corner while holding Primrose's hand and tagging her along, Rhodey followed them to reveal Tony still dancing on stage, "I don't know what to do," she lamented.

"You gotta be kidding me," Rhodey sighed.

"What?" she looked at her dad, and then at them, "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice becoming whiny.

Suddenly the people around them whooped as Tony stumbled off the stage with a bottle of alcohol in hand. The crowd, and Primrose, looked worried for a second that he might fall down, but her dad stood up again and signalized that he was okay – and the cheering started once more.

Primrose frowned, "Is daddy drunk?" that was fine. It was his birthday and he was an adult, right? But she was right here. And he promised her a long time ago that he'd never get too drunk around her. But she continued thinking that it was fine because it was his birthday.

Rhodey scowled down at Primrose, then glared at his friend, how dare he make a fool out of himself in front of her? Getting heavily drunk like that? With his daughter standing right here? "That's it," he stated in disgust, turning to go, "I'm making"

"No, no, no, don't call anyone!" pleaded Pepper, tugging on his arm.

Primrose watched them worriedly, "Is dad in trouble?" she asked her uncle, who looked sadly at her, and then back at Pepper.

"Pepper," he snapped, "This is ridiculous! Look at Prim, look how confused she looks right now! He promised not to get drunk in front of her, remember? When he made us godparents? Look at the state he is, wearing his suit while heavily drunk, making a fool out of himself in front of his daughter? I just stuck my neck out for this guy!" he pointed at Tony, to make his statement more clear.

Primrose flinched at his tone, then looked at her dad again, hugging his gift closer. Was her dad okay? Was he in the trouble?

"I know," Pepper insisted repeatedly, "I get it. I'm gonna handle it, okay? Just let me handle it."

The seven-year-old looked relieved at that, Pepper was always able to calm her dad down. Maybe she could fix everything and then she could finally give him his gift!

"Handle it, or I'm gonna have to." Rhodey firmly told her, his tone was final.

When Pepper left them, Primrose looked up at her uncle with a sad expression. Rhodey stared at her and his angry posture relaxed as he sighed tiredly, "I'm so sorry baby girl, I wish I could tell you what's going on but you wouldn't understand," he placed his hand on her head again, "I care about your dad very much, and I recently found out something that scares me, that makes me know that your daddy has nothing to lose. I'm worried about him, but I don't hate him. I want what's best for him, understand?"

Primrose could only nod, looking sadly at the stage to watch Pepper's movements when her dad started slurring into the microphone.

"You know, the question I get asked most often is 'Tony, how do you go the bathroom in the suit?'," he paused to make a face before exclaiming, "just like that!"

The crowd quickly cracked up laughing as Primrose cringed, "Ew, is that true uncle Rhodey?" she asked him quickly.

"Nah," he replied too fast, his eyes glaring at her dad.

Pepper took the microphone from him with a nervous smile, "Does this man knows how to throw a party or what?" she improvised, getting wild cheers from the guests, "Unbelievable! Thank you so much. Tony, we all thank you so much for a wonderful night. And we're gonna say goodnight now and thank you all for coming."

Primrose was shocked that Pepper was shutting the party down, she just got here! But maybe this was good, this could mean she could have her daddy just to herself.

Just when the crowd groans and boos, Emma approached them, looking quite surprised as she stared at the stage.

"What just happened? Did Pepper just shut down the party?" she greeted Rhodey, "You look handsome, by the way," she added, smiling at him.

Rhodey managed to smile back before he nodded, "Tony's acting too reckless."

"Yeah, I can't believe he's wearing the suit. What was he thinking? Prim, stay near me." Emma told her with a serious expression.

Primrose was starting to get annoyed, why was everyone telling her that? Her daddy would never hurt her!

"No, no, no!" Tony started insisting, "We didn't have the cake, Prim chose it! We didn't blow out the candles ye–Where's Prim, by the way, where's my little princess?" he started scanning the crowd, his eyes squinted.

_"You're out of control, okay?" Pepper whispered to Tony, "Trust me on this one, okay?"_

"You're out of control, gorgeous," Tony suddenly purred at her.

"It's time to go to bed," Pepper continued, smiling through her pain, "It's time."

Primrose saw her dad actually leaning down toward Pepper, pleading, "Give me another smooch."

She cringed at him, and for the first time ever she felt embarrassed by him, "Daddy no"

Emma groaned and rubbed her temples, "What the hell is he doing? He's too drunk!"

Primrose was so shocked that she couldn't scold her mom for saying a swear in front of her.

"You're not going to be happy about this," Pepper stated as she leaned away from him.

"Come on, you know you want to" Tony slurred out.

_"You just peed the Suit, okay?" Pepper reminded him, obviously not having any of it._

_"I know, it has a filtration system -"_

_"- it's not sexy."_

_"- you could drink that water."_

He tried a couple more times before Pepper managed to firmly push him off and say, "Just send everyone home, okay? It's time to"

"If you say so," Tony finally said with a meek tone.

"Okay, I'll take this," she took the bottle from him. "You take that," she handed him the microphone.

"Pepper Potts," Tony said into the microphone as if he were announcing her, and there was some scattered applause. "She's right," Tony went on. "The party's over. Then again, the party was over for me, like, an hour and a half ago. The after-party starts in fifteen minutes!"

Pepper shut her eyes briefly, but Rhodey just looked on. Primrose just looked down at her daddy's gift with a sad face, and Emma simply glared at him.

"And if anybody - Pepper - doesn't like it," added Tony, jerking his head in the opposite direction of where she was standing, "There's the door!" And before anyone could react, he lifted his free hand and blasted out the pane of glass behind him with his hand ray, making everybody standing nearby duck hastily out of the way to avoid the shower of glass.

Primrose screamed as Emma jumped towards her, covering her daughter protectively as she let out a shocked gasped herself.

Tony seemed to have reacted to his daughter's scream, he looked upon the crowd and his eyes finally settled on Primrose, a goofy smile spread on his lips quickly.

"Prim! My daughter! My beautiful and my most beautiful creation! Come give papa a birthday huh–oh, is that my present?" he started making his way towards the shocked little girl, but Emma stood in front of her.

"STAY AWAY!" she snarled, startling him, "YOU ARE OUT OF CONTROL TONY! YOU'RE SCARING YOUR DAUGHTER!"

Drunk Tony scoffed at her, then laughed at his arm pointed at the crowd, "Scaring her? Obviously, everyone enjoyed that!"

Pepper shot a despairing look at Rhodey, who watched as one of the women in the crowd tossed up a champagne bottle for Tony to explode, which he did, startling Primrose again.

"That's dangerous!" the girl exclaimed as her mom shielded her away from possible glass shards flying around.

"We're leaving–" Emma told Rhodey, but he was quickly leaving as Tony continued to blast bottles, "Rhodey, where are you going?!" she asked urgently.

The people in the crowd seemed to be retrieving anything now, "Primmy watch this!" her dad yelled excitedly before a bouncing drunk woman threw a watermelon, which Tony blasted with his chest plate.

Primrose had to admit that looked kinda cool but still scary, and besides, she got parts of watermelon on her dress.

Suddenly, she heard her uncle speak with a firm and loud tone: "I'm only going to say this once," he shouted over the cheering as the crowd split to show him inside the Mark 2 suit, "Get out!" the faceplate on the suit lowered as the guests began to flee the building.

"Let's go, Prim," Emma said at Pepper approached them.

"No! I want to stay!" she argued, but her mom had carried her out of the room. Confused, angry and scared, Primrose started crying about the whole situation, "No! Daddy!" she yelled as her mom followed the rest of the crowd, with Pepper behind them.

"Natalie!" barked Pepper as she stalked through the front room which opened onto the street. Emma and Primrose were already outside, hearing Pepper and Natalie talk.

"Miss Potts -" Natalie began, appearing magically in front of Pepper.

"Don't you 'Miss Potts me'!" Pepper shouted angrily, her finger leveled like a drawn dagger at the other woman. "I'm onto you! You know what? Ever since you came here, I –"

But she was cut off when Tony and Rhodey came crashing down through the ceiling and into the room, nearby them, making Pepper scream. Primrose's eyes widened comically at the scene as Emma screamed as well, fearing both of their lives.

Happy suddenly came running back into the house as Tony and Rhodey continued fighting as if nothing happened, "Pepper!" he called out, quickly grabbing and pulling her out of the house knowing there was nothing else he could do.

Primrose managed to look for Natalie, fearing her sake, but she confusedly saw the woman walk away in another direction, looking behind her to make sure she wasn't being followed. Anything was good enough to distract the little girl from the fact that her daddy was fighting her godfather!

Tony suddenly smacked Rhodey onto the floor, "You want it?! TAKE IT!" he shouted, making Primrose cower fearfully behind her mom.

"TONY STOP IT!" Emma shouted desperately, feeling her daughter shake.

But Tony started brawling with fists instead of using his weaponry, they were now punching each other as the crowd awed. It briefly ended with Tony smashing Rhodey through a table, and Emma looked around in shock as the people around her actually started to take photos.

Tony looked at everyone, then his eyes fell on Emma, Pepper, Happy and finally Primrose. Inside his helmet, his angry expression sobered instantly, why was she looking at him like that?! He wasn't the bad guy here, Rhodey was trying to steal his suit, they were having fun at his last birthday party, weren't they? Why can't Primrose give him a smile, uh?! His anger suddenly returned, he was scaring her, of course, he had become a monster to her eyes. He was feeling so sorry about himself that the drinking didn't stop, he was just like his goddamn father, wasn't he? Primrose deserved better.

So he yelled angrily at the crowd out of frustration, and everyone fled screaming in fear. Everyone but Emma and Primrose.

His daughter had flinched and then regarded him with a sad look as tears slid down her cheeks. He instantly regretted everything. He regretted drinking, he regretted putting the suit on to hide his pained expression from everyone, he regretted starting shooting things in front of her.  _'Oh God, what have I done?'_

Emma shook her head with disappointment, and of course, she did. Tony thought that right now she looked exactly like his mom did whenever she looked at Howard after an argument that Tony had backed out off. God, he looked so ashamed right now, if only she could see it.

Suddenly, he was smacked in the head by the top of a damaged table by Rhodey while he was distracted. Tony went flying into the fireplace, sending sparks flying everywhere. Primrose sobbed out a 'daddy!' but it was very faint for him. Once Tony pulled herself out, he lifted his hand as Rhodey did the same.

"Put your hand down," Rhodey said, he glanced quickly at Primrose and Emma and regretted all the chaos he caused, "Emma, leave with Prim, RIGHT NOW!" he told her urgently.

"NO!" Emma quickly grabbed Primrose again and made a move to leave, "DADDY STOP IT!"

"You think you got what it takes to wear that suit?" Tony deadpanned with a dark tone, ignoring his daughter's pleas.

"We don't have to do this Tony, think about Primrose!" Rhodey pleaded.

"You wanna be the War Machine, take your shot," Tony goaded.

"DADDY STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Primrose screaming as she struggled, throwing his gift at their direction hoping that it would hit her dad, but it barely got near the fireplace.

Emma finally managed to get her daughter safely away from the balcony, Happy quickly spotted them and helped her carry the struggling child away from the fight.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Primrose yelled, crying at the same time.

"PRIMROSE MARIA EVANS-STARK!" Emma yelled angrily, finally done with her daughter's tantrum, "You stop it right now young lady or so help me I'll ground you for two weeks!" Emma never had to punish her daughter, and she could understand why Primrose was acting this way, but if she didn't do anything to calm her down, then her unstable daughter could escape and go back to her dad.

A sudden explosion that shattered all the remaining glass in the balcony where they once stood was heard, shaking the ground a little bit and sending some people down when she shockwave hit, leaving a cloud of smoke coming out of the mansion.

"DADDY! UNCLE RHODEY!" Primrose managed to break free from her mom and Happy's grasp, due to the explosion's distraction and ran back into the room just in time to watch her uncle Rhodey take flight and leave. Coughing because of the smoke, she ignored her mother screaming for her name as she entered the smoggy room, she spotted the lights of the Iron Man's suit by the fireplace and walked toward them.

"D-Daddy?" she called out, fearfully.

"Primrose!" her mom yelled from behind her, Emma stood in the balcony, her voice cut when she looked around in horror at the destruction, "Where's Rhodey?!" she asked to the air.

None of them replied.

"Daddy" Primrose whispered as she kneeled in front of her dad, he stared at her, or at least his helmet did, "Are you okay? Do you feel better now?"

Tony's eyes teared up instantly, he just became a chaotic bastard in front of her, she saw what he did, but she asks if he's fine? He didn't deserve her, and Primrose couldn't see him die. He slowly stood up, using the fireplace to help him, and Primrose stood as well, looking at him hopefully.

"TONY!" Emma yelled as he started walking toward the balcony. Primrose followed him, confused to why he wasn't talking, "Listen here! I don't understand why you did it, but until you get yourself under control don't even think you'll see ever Primrose again! Call my lawyer, I don't care!" she continued, but he passed by her, getting to the edge of the balcony.

"Daddy?" Primrose repeated, not liking what her mom was saying.

Tony then turned to look at Emma, "Take full custody of her then, I don't care." and with that, he took flight into the dark, nightly sky.

Emma was left in a state of shock to even react, but Primrose immediately went after him and leaned over the railing of the balcony.

"DADDY, WAIT!" she screamed after him, crying again, "DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Tony started crying as well inside his suit, all he wanted was to go back and hug his daughter closely, without his suit, and promise her that he was going to stay with her forever. But that wasn't true, he was going to die soon, and he wanted Primrose to feel as less pain as possible.

He was never coming back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This is actually canon!
> 
> **Also canon! But it's on the comic books.


	20. Nice work, kid! - IM2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I watched Endgame. I got nothing to say. Because I still don't wanna see spoilers on the reviews. If you wanna talk with me about the movie then PM me!
> 
> If you're not from the U.S, New York is 3 hours ahead of California, so don't be confused!
> 
> The transcript is by 'Karma Rue Lovegood Everdeen', 'ElrondsScribe' and the movie belongs to Marvel.

**_May 30th  
Location: Randy's Donuts, Inglewood, California_ **

To treat his hangover, Tony had ordered coffee and a box of donuts at a Randys Donuts establishment and proceeded to eat them inside the giant donut on top of the building.

He was wearing sunglasses, the helmet was gone, and looking into the distance while eating a donut as he fought to forget that way Primrose yelled after him, to not leave her. All he wanted to do is go back to her and hug his daughter. Right now, she's probably back to New York with her mom, thinking she'd never see him again. Which was true.

"Sir!" called an all-too-familiar voice from the ground as an all-too-familiar figure in a black trenchcoat tilted its head up to look at the obnoxious doughnut eater, "I'm going to have to ask you to exit the doughnut!"

Tony met Fury after the press conference when he announced the world he was Iron Man. Primrose had been with him, and she was startled at first. Tony remembers Primrose calling him a pirate after Fury left, which had been amusing at the time.

Now this pirate was kinda annoying.

Tony lowered his sunglasses to stare at Fury as he walked into the shop. He evidently decided to join him.

"I told you, I don't want to join your super-secret boy band," Tony said as he sat slumped in a booth inside the shop, which seemed quite empty, with his coffee cup in front of him.

Across from him, Fury chuckled. "Nah, nah, nah, see, I remember," he said. "you do everything yourself. How's that workin' out for ya?" He took a sip of coffee.

"It's - it's - it's -" Tony seemed rather out of it. He picked up his coffee cup and put it back down, "I'm sorry, I don't wanna get off on the wrong foot - do I look at the patch or the eye?"

Furys smirk did not lessen.

"Honestly, I'm a bit hungover," Tony continued after not getting an answer from the other man, "I'm not sure if you're real, or if I'm having a weird delusion -"

Fury leaned forward across the table, "I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

"Just my luck," Tony sighed and then turning to look around the little restaurant, "Wheres the staff here?"

"That's not looking so good," Fury said, reaching out to indicate the blue veins of palladium poisoning on Tony's neck.

"I've been worse," Tony grumbled.

That was when Natalie walked up, clad in her SHIELD uniform, and quickly talked with Fury, "We've secured the perimeter, but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer."

Tony gazed at her over his sunglasses, completely flummoxed, "Huh," If he had been more himself he would no doubt have come up with a smart retort in seconds, but all he seemed capable of uttering at the moment was a mumbled: "You fired," that fell rather flat.

"That's not up to you," Natasha stated with a smirk as she slid into the booth beside Fury.

"Tony," Fury began, laying a hand on each of her shoulders, "I want you to meet Agent Romanoff."

"Hi," Tony simply said, taking off his sunglasses and rubbing his eyes.

"I'm a SHIELD shadow, my real name is Natasha," she explained crisply, "Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury."

"I suggest you apologize," Tony told her, "Do you know that my daughter looks up to you?"

Natasha seemed to lose her smile at that.

"You've been busy," Fury started, "you made your girl your CEO, you're giving away all your stuff. You let your friend fly away with your suit. You gave full-custody of your daughter to her mom. Now, if I didn't know better"

"You don't know better," Tony insisted, "I didn't give it to her, she took it. And I'm reckless, I knew that was going to be a day where Emma sees that and takes Primrose away forever as she should."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! He took it? You're Iron Man and he just took it? The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass and took your suit? Is that possible? And Agent Romanoff told me that you're a good dad, are you sure you want her to take Primrose away forever?"

"Well, according to Mr. Stark's database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage," Natasha stated.

Tony sighed, obviously not wanting to discuss this any longer as it was still painful, "What do you want from me?" he softly begged.

"What do we want from you? No, uh-uh," Fury shook his head, "What do you want from me?"

At this point Natasha got up and walked off, leaving Tony and Fury at the table.

"You have become a problem. A problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe –"

"Yeah, I get it," Tony acknowledged.

"– I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with. And in the end, I don't want your little girl to grow up without a father," Fury went on, and he snapped his fingers at Natasha, who had reappeared, "Hit him."

Natasha pushed a syringe straight into his neck with a snap.

"Oh, God!" Tony squawked, starting violently and trying to twist away as Natasha somewhat forcibly turned his head so she could look at his neck, "Are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it?! Could you please not do anything awful, for five seconds," While he was talking, the marks on his neck slowly receded, "What did she do to me?"

"What did she just do  _for_ you," Fury amended, "That's lithium dioxide. Its gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work."

Tony rolled his eyes over at Natasha, whom hed clearly not forgiven yet, "Give me couple boxes of that, I'll be right as rain."

"It's not a cure," she informed him, "It just abates the symptoms."

"Doesn't look like its gonna be an easy fix," Fury stated, looking keenly at Tony.

Tony looked back at Fury, and an edge crept into his voice as he spoke, "Trust me, I know, I'm good at this stuff. I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I've tried every combination, every permutation of every known element."

"Well, I'm here to tell you that you haven't tried them all." Fury said.

* * *

**_Location: Hunters Point, Queens, New York City  
1:22 PM_ **

Primrose didn't want to speak with anyone, especially her mom.

They spent the rest of the night at her dad's but left early in the morning back to New York City. When she got home, she ignored her mom when she called her and went straight to her bedroom, closing the door as well. Then she got under her Iron Man comforter and hid there until her mom knocked on her door.

"Primrose, sweetie let me in," Emma begged softly, "You gave me the silent treatment during the flight, I can't take it anymore. We need to talk."

Primrose didn't reply.

Emma sighed on the other side of the door, "Okay, I'll talk and you'll listen. I'm sorry, but you saw the way your dad acted. He's going through a bad thing in his life and he's keeping it to himself, but that doesn't give him the right to act dangerously reckless around you. I may have been too harsh when I told him he couldn't see you anymore, but only until he gets better! I'm not forbidding you from seeing your dad, I just want to keep you safe!"

Primrose started sniffed as she peeked from her comforter towards her door, her brown eyes were red from her continuous crying, and her cheeks were the same color as well.

"Your dad is suffering, but I don't know why. He won't tell me, he won't tell Pepper or your uncle Rhodey – even JARVIS refused to tell us after he left. So you understand how serious this is," Emma continued when Primrose didn't say anything.

The seven-year-old uncovered herself and sat on the edge of her bed to take her shoes off. Then, she hopped out of it and walked towards the door.

"Primrose, you know I care about him, right? Last night I was scared for him, but I was also afraid of what he could do without realizing it," Because he was drunk, Emma wanted to say, "He's currently missing. But I'm sure he'll return and settle everything right. Want to know why?" Emma asked, her voice gentle.

Primrose opened the door and looked at her mom with teary, but hopeful eyes. Emma smiled at her and kneeled down to be the same height as her daughter, "Because he loves you more than anything in this world."

With that, Primrose started outright sobbing as she glomped her mother for a hug, which Emma responded to instantly. The two hugged each other tightly, forgetting that one was upset at the other.

"He said he doesn't want me anymore" Primrose sobbed, obviously traumatized by her dad leaving her on that balcony.

"He didn't say that."

"I'm not stupid mommy, I know what 'full-custody' means" she retorted with a sad tone.

"I didn't say you were stupid. I'm telling you he didn't say that – he didn't mean it at all. I know your father, he was forcing his words out. He was in pain. I told you, he loves you more than anyone an anything." Emma explained with a firm tone, "And I" without Primrose seeing her expression, Emma teared up, "I didn't mean what I said. Sweetie, I'm not taking full-custody over you. You're our daughter, and your dad has been a great one until now," Emma stated, "I want to help him. All he has to do is let me in."

Primrose nodded, understand her mother, "I would run away from you if you keep daddy from me," she mumbled on her shoulder, ultimately covering it with tears, and making Emma chuckle.

"I know you would,"

After that moment, Emma told Primrose to take a shower while she ordered lunch. And when Primrose was done and dressed in more comfortable attire, Emma took a quick shower as well and put some pajamas on since she wasn't working today. When the pizza arrived, the two decided to watch a movie to relax from the events that happened last night. While Primrose was distracted, Emma kept glancing at her phone for any signs for Tony or Pepper. Receiving no texts or phone calls from both made her even more anxious, but she tried not to show it as Primrose laughed at the scene.

 _'Oh, Tony where are you?'_  Emma thought.

* * *

**_Location: Malibu, California  
8:23 AM_ **

In the ruins of the first floor of Tony's mansion by the sea, Tony and Fury sat in two chairs in what looked like the lounge. Two agents stood at the edge of the balcony, keeping watch.

"That thing in your chest is based on unfinished technology," Fury told him.

"No, it was finished," Tony stated, who appeared to be wearing a satin bathrobe over a black shirt and jeans, "Never been particularly effective until I miniaturized it and put it in my -"

"No," Fury interrupted, "Howard said the Arc Reactor was the stepping stone to something greater. He was about to kick off an energy race that was about to dwarf the arms race. He was on to something big – something so big that it was going to make the nuclear reactor look like a triple-A battery."

Tony had been eyeing Fury skeptically. He leaned forward and poured himself what looked like a cup of water, "Just him?" he asked, "Or was Anton Vanko in on it too?"

"Anton Vanko was the other side of that coin," Fury explained, leaning back and turning his hand over as he spoke, "Anton saw it as a way to get rich. When your father found out, he had him deported. The Russians found out he couldn't deliver, they shipped his ass off to Siberia, where he spent the next twenty years of a vodka-fueled rage. Not quite the environment you want to raise a kid in – the son you had the misfortune of crossing paths within Monaco."

Tony was frowning, and he pointed now at the other man. "You told me I hadn't tried everything," Tony said, bringing them back around to the point of the conversation, "What do you mean, I haven't tried everything? What haven't I tried?"

"He said that you were the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started," Fury said, taking a sip of his own glass of water.

Tony obviously wasn't having any of it, "He said that?" he asked with a rather bitter smile.

"Hmm," Fury confirmed, "Are you that guy, eh?" he leaned forward, looking keenly at him with the single eye that seemed to pierce the soul and read the heart, "Are you? Because if you are, then you can solve the riddle of your heart."

Tony shook his head, and his mouth tightened. "I don't know where you're getting your information," he said, "but, um, he wasn't my biggest fan."

Fury was still looking at Tony, "What do you remember about your dad, huh?" he inquired.

"He was cold, he was calculating," Tony started, "He never told me he loved me, he never even told me he liked me. So it's a little tough for me to digest – when you're telling me he said the whole future was riding on me, and he's passing it down – I don't get that. We're talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school."

"And yet you're quite the opposite of him. From what Natasha told me, you love your daughter very much." Fury stated.

Tony nodded, "I don't want to be like him."

"But what you said about your father is not true," Fury insisted.

"Well, then clearly you knew my dad better than I did," Tony retorted sarcastically, not believing a word he was saying.

At that moment two more agents brought up a large grey case and set it on the floor near them just as Fury put down his glass to say, "As a matter of fact, I did. He was one of the founding members of SHIELD."

"What?" Tony sat up, his eyes flitting between the grey case and Fury, who was actually getting up with the words "I got a two o'clock."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Tony protested, "What's this?"

But Fury ignored him and glanced at his wrist, "You're good right? You've got this, right?"

"No, I'm not good!" Tony exclaimed, but obviously interested now, "Got what? I don't even know what I'm supposed to get!"

"Natasha will remain as a floater at Stark with her cover intact," Fury continued as he put his coat on, "and you remember Agent Coulson, right?"

"Yeah," Tony said absently, still staring accusingly after Fury.

"Oh, and Tony, remember - I got my eye on you." Fury warned him as he walked away.

When he left, Tony turned to face Natasha, "We've disabled all communications. No contact with the outside world. Good luck." with that, she left as well, leaving a confused Tony behind with Coulson.

Tony gave Coulson a don't-you-try-my-patience look with a muttered "Please," Then he began, "I need a little body work – I'll put in a little time at the lab. If we could send one of your goon squad down to the Coffee Bean, Cross Creek, for a Starbucks run, something like that – that'd be nice."

"I'm not here for that," Coulson stated with his inscrutable smile, "I've been authorized by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on premises. If you attempt to leave or play any games, I will tase you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet. Okay?"

"I think I got it, yeah," Tony drawled.

There was a small pause before Coulson spoke again, "How's your daughter?"

Tony seemed surprised at the question, "Probably traumatized at what her dad did here last night, why?"

"No reason. Enjoy your evening's entertainment," Coulson nodded, and he too turned and walked off.

Tony shook his head when the agent left, and then turned to look at the case which was marked 'Property of H. Stark'.

* * *

**_Back to Hunters Point  
10:33 PM_ **

"I know you're still upset, so how about I take you to Stark Expo tomorrow? Pepper is gonna be there to see Hammer's new presentation." Emma told Primrose as she tucked her in on her bed.

The little girl made a face when her mom mentioned Hammer, but she did want to see Pepper, and Natalieand maybe her dad would be there!

"That would be good. I'm curious about it, also maybe daddy will be there." Primrose replied, getting comfortable while hugging her still favorite plushie bunny.

Emma managed to give her a smile, then kissed her forehead, "Then it's settled. I love you sweetie; sleep well," she whispered before heading towards the door and turning off the lights, allowing for the same galaxy nightlight that Primrose had at her father's to loop across her bedroom's ceiling. Tony installed it once Primrose asked, it helped their little space-pirate wannabe drift to sleep more peacefully.

"I love you too mommy," Primrose whispered back before smiling back at Emma as she closed the door.

Out in the corridor, Emma sighed tiredly and rubbed her eye as she walked back to the living room. She sat down on the couch and stared at her phone on the coffee table. Zero messages or phone calls from Tony, but one phone call from Pepper.

The media has been harsh on the new CEO. Emma would cringe whenever she watched the news, on the O'Relly Factor they called her a pinhead.

During the phone call, Pepper told Emma that Tony actually stopped by to quote 'apologize but not apologize' with strawberries (Emma had to snort at that) and to indeed confirm it to her that she'd be at the Expo tomorrow acting as CEO to watch Hammer's presentation – and that Tony would not be present. She didn't want to tell Primrose that, crushing her expectations would be a terrible thing to do at the moment. But at least Primrose would be happy to see her godmother.

Pepper sounded really stressed, but mostly sad. Just like Emma felt.

She jumped when her phone vibrated loudly on the glass from the table, she grabbed it and hoped to see a text from Tony, but all she saw different numbers paired with symbols unknown to her brain.

_'Everything is going to be okay now. I'm sorry.'_

Emma started crying, she hugged her phone because she knew. Tony had sent her the message.

* * *

**_May 31st  
Back to Malibu_ **

" _Congratulations, sir,"_  JARVIS stated,  _"You have created a new element."_

Tony opened a new Arc Reactor and pushed the glowing triangle into a little prepared space in the middle, and let the case shut itself. The triangles glow brightened again, and a tiny whine issued from the Reactor.

 _"Sir, the Reactor has accepted the modified core. I will begin running diagnostics."_  JARVIS inputted.

"Dum-E, U," Tony told his robots inside his workshop in the garage, "Can we clean up this mess? You're killing me, you know I don't –"

A notification dinged, and JARVIS alerted,  _"Incoming call from a blocked number, sir."_

Tony turned round to his center desktop. "Here I thought I had to continue to hack my own phone to text Emma. Phone privileges reinstated. Lovely," He leaned forward the desk, "Coulson! Hows the Land of Enchantment?" he quipped lightly.

 _"Hey, Tony,"_  said the voice of Ivan, and Tony stiffened,  _"How you doing?"_  the voice chuckled,  _"I double cycle."_

"You what?" Tony asked tensely.

 _"You told me double cycles, more power,"_  Ivan said easily, sitting peacefully on the floor of the corner study with the bird on his knee and the two guards dangling from the ceiling behind him,  _"Good advice."_

"You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy," Tony stated firmly.

 _"You too,"_  Ivan chuckled.

Tony muted his microphone, "Trace it," he ordered JARVIS.

 _"Sir,"_  JARVIS respectfully obeyed, and one of the other computers began speeding away.

 _"Now the true history of Stark name will be written,"_  Ivan continued.

"JARVIS, where is he?" Tony asked quickly.

 _"Accessing the Oracle Grid,"_  JARVIS stated, and on the other computer screen, the image shifted to North America, then zoomed in on the northeast corner of the States,  _"Eastern Seaboard."_   _"What your father did to my family over forty years, I will do to you in forty minutes,"_  Ivan said with a threatening tone.

"Sounds good," Tony quipped, apparently having unmuted his microphone for a few seconds. "Let's get together and hash it out."

 _"Tri-State area,"_ JARVIS informed him,  _"Manhattan and outlying boroughs."  
"I hope you're ready. I'm starting with your daughter,"_ Ivan told him softly, and he hung up.

Tony looked at his desktops in dismay.

 _"Call trace incomplete,"_  JARVIS confirmed.

Tony sat up right away, "I know where he is", but at that moment his eye fell upon another of his screens. On it was an image of Justin Hammer, "Shit. Primrose!"

 _"Sir!"_  JARVIS protested as Tony urgently screwed the new Arc Reactor into his body.

"You want to run some tests, run em," Tony ignore him, panting a little, "And assemble the Suit while you're at it – put it together now!"

 _"We are unclear as to the effects of -"_  began the AI.

"I don't want to hear it, JARVIS! Primrose is in danger! Everyone at the Expo is as well!" snapped Tony, and he gave a slight cough as the new Arc Reactor began to brighten. The darkened veins around the socket all disappeared.

"It tastes like coconut," Tony suddenly commented, "Gah, and metal -" but he felt better at once, for he shouted, "Oh wow, YEAH!" as the light from the Arc Reactor engulfed the whole garage.

* * *

_**Location: Stark Expo, Queens** _

"Thanks again for the ride, Pepper," Emma said as Happy parked by the curb, on the Expo's main entrance.

"No need Emma," Pepper replied with a smile.

Primrose looked outside excitedly as the car came into a halt. As everyone leaves the car, with Emma holding Primrose's hand right away, Happy looks at Pepper, "I'll keep the car down here, all right?"

"Thank you, Happy." she nods.

"See you later, Happy!" Primose tells him sweetly as the start heading inside, Happy smiles and waves at her.

Just when they start ascending the stairs for the pavilions, the announcer on the speakers informed that Hammer's presentation would begin shortly.

Emma scoffed, "Can't wait for that one," she grinned at Natalie, who smirked back. The two finally met briefly on the car ride from Emma's apartment to the Expo, now she could see why Primrose took a liking to her. But Emma couldn't help to see that something was off about this Natalie Rushman.

Not that it mattered now, she glanced at her daughter and saw Primrose awe at everything around her until they got to the main pavilion – where they got seats and took them, waiting for the show to start.

Two minutes later, a funky type of music started roaring through the speakers. And just as when Primrose made a face about it (now being used to her dad's choice of music) everyone saw Justin Hammer waltzing into the stage while dancing in a way that made the seven-year-old laugh but the adult women make an exasperated face.

"He's dressed like daddy!" Primrose exclaimed as she noticed the suit.

"Yeah!" Justin said before he twirled and stood in front of the podium, "That's what I'm talking about! Thanks for coming!" he began, "Ladies and gentlemen, for far too long, this country has had to place its brave men and women in harm's way, but then the Iron Man arrived, and we thought the days of losing lives were behind us. Sadly, that technology was kept out of reach. That's not fair. That's not right. And it's just too bad,"

"Oh lord," Pepper sighed exasperatedly as Natalie and Emma looked at her with the same expression.

"Regardless, it was an impressive innovation, one that grabbed the headlines the world over. Well, today, my friends, the press is faced with quite a difficult problem. They are about to run out of ink," Hammer stated as two people run on to remove the podium, "Get that out of here. Ladies and gentlemen, today I present to you the new face of the United States military. The Hammer drone."

Primrose watched in awe as drones started to rise out of the stage as Hammer calls names, "Army! Navy! Air Force! Marines! Yeah! Yeah! Woo! That's a hell of a lot better than some cheerleaders, let me tell you. But as revolutionary as this technology is, there will always be a need for man to be present in the theatre of war!"

As the crowd cheered, Pepper and Natalie exchanged an uneasy look, Emma frowned at the stage and Primrose couldn't help to tilt her head at the drones. They all seemed kinda bland if they had some color they'd be better.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today I am proud to present to you the very first prototype in the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit and its pilot, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes!" Hammer announced as the crowd cheered louder.

"What?!" Pepper scoffs.  
"Rhodey!" Emma gasps, feeling disappointed.  
"UncleRhodey?" Primrose meekly states.

As Rhodey saluted with his suit, the other drones followed his lead.

"For America and its allies, Hammer Industries is reporting for–"

Justin Hammer was interrupted when a sound equal to a jet descending towards was heard. Everyone looked behind them to see Iron Man approaching the stage, flying inside his suit. He landed right in front of Rhodey, and after a few seconds – everyone cheered even louder than they did than Hammer's entrance.

"DADDY!" Primrose cheered, excited to see him she started clapping as well, "See mommy! I told you that he'd be here!"

Pepper and Emma exchanged a worried look, while "Natalie" looked keenly at the stage.

Everyone saw Iron Man walk towards War Machine and stand next to him as he waved at the crowd.

"Hey, all right. Yeah!" Hammer addressed the crowd, clapping with them. Then Iron Man walked towards him after standing next to War Machine for a few seconds. No one could hear Tony speak, only Justin Hammer's confusion, "What?" and "Who?" and then, "What are you doing here, man?"

At this point, the three women and Primrose had stood from their seats. Watching the exchange.

"You think daddy came here to surprise Mr. Hammer?" Primrose asked her mother.

Emma looked at her with widened eyes, "I don't know? Maybe?"

"Do you think he'll talk to–what's uncle Rhodey doing?!" Primrose squealed as she watched War Machine suddenly equip his machine gun weapon out of his shoulder pads and point it at her dad.

"Oh boy, time to go!" Emma exclaimed as the rest of the drones mimicked War Machine.

As Emma gently guided Primrose to the chairs aisle for them to leave, the crowd suddenly moved to run away in panic, pushing Primrose away from a screaming Emma as she was taken by the crowd's movement.

"MOMMY!"

"PRIM!" Emma and Pepper yelled at the same time as they watched the seven-year-old vanish with horror. Even Natalie seemed agitated.

Emma tried to go after her but the swarm of panicked people was bumping and pushing her everywhere but where her daughter go.

"She'll be fine!" Pepper suddenly grabbed her arm, "She's smart! She knows where to go, we taught her, remember?!"

Primrose has been taught at a very early age what to do if she ever gets lost. But that didn't mean Emma couldn't have a panic attack! There were more than a thousand people at the Expo, and all of them were now running for their lives!

"I'll call Happy, maybe he sees her from outside!" Emma quickly said, grabbing her phone. But then the drones started leaving the stage, with their weapons aimed at the crowd, and Pepper quickly grabbed Emma to run away from them with Natalie, who seemed pretty calm for the whole shitty situation.

Meanwhile Primrose kept on running, avoiding other people. She heard screaming everywhere, and loud steps that made her anxious as they neared her.

Pepper, Natalie, and Emma made their way backstage, where Justin Hammer was throwing orders around technicians in front of computers.

"He's locked us out of the mainframe." they heard one of the technicians state nervously.

"Who's locked you out of the mainframe?" Pepper asked at once as they approached them.

"Please, please, go away. Go away. I've got this handled," Justin quickly said, dismissing them completely.

"Have you now?" Pepper snapped.

"You don't look like an asshole who got this handled!" Emma shouted at him, the stress of Primrose being out there alone getting to her.

"Hey! Easy lady, I don't even know you!" Justin scoffs at her, "And yes, I do. In fact, if your guy hadn't shown up, this wouldn't be happening. So, please, now go away. Thank you."

Emma glared hatefully at him, she was ready to punch him when Natalie grabbed him and held him down on the desk by putting his arm around his back painfully.

Emma awed while Pepper gasped a little, but both looked more impressed than anything.

"Where did you get her?" Emma quipped quickly as she whispered to Pepper.

"You tell me who's behind this. Who's behind this?!" Natalie growled on Justin's ear.

"Ivan–Ivan Vanko!" grunted out in pain.

"Where is he?!" Natalie asked.

"At my facility!"

Natasha lets go and turns to Pepper and Emma, pulling them aside quickly to avoid any eavesdroppers, "Ms. Potts, Emma," she nods, "I'm sorry but I've been lying to you. My name is Natasha Romanoff and I am a SHIELD agent. All will be explained better than but now I have to go, I need to finish my mission. Know that I'll be in contact soon, stay here," she explained, and before they could say something Natasha left quickly, leaving the women shocked behind.

Recovering, and exasperated, Pepper dials a number on her phone, "I need NYPD, please," she states to the person on the other line.

Hammer was still groaning in pain when he heard her, "No, no, no!" he begged her.

"Command central," Pepper continued, ignoring him.

"No, no, honey. Don't call the authorities,"

Emma had enough when Justin decided to use a pet name, she instantly used her knee to hit him right on his crouch, "Don't call her honey, asshole!" she yelled as he fell down on the ground, groaning in pain and holding his crouch as his body swung side to side.

"Okay. Right away. Right away," Pepper seemed unfazed by the violent act as she approached the technician's table, "Tell me everything you know. Go."

"And quickly, please, my daughter is out there," Emma added, standing by her side.

Scared of suffering the same fate at his boss, the man nodded and obeyed quickly.

* * *

Primrose was scared, she couldn't find any security people and there were drones everywhere. She ran past the large fountain, following a group of people, and luckily she started recognizing the way out. After descending a staircase, she heard the heavy footsteps behind her and at the same time, the sound of a very fast jet passing through. She looked up and squinted to see her daddy being chased by War Machine and other drones, suddenly the drones from behind her shoot at the sky and she watches fearfully her daddy dodging the missiles – but they hit an enemy drone, that crashed around the crowd, and dangerously on Primrose if she hadn't run away in time.

She kept on running, and to her horror she noticed her asthma starting to act up. Her emergency inhaler was inside her mom's purse! As she descended another case of stairs, she heard more missiles approaching and what it followed were explosions near her, on the walls, making some concrete parts fall on the crowd. Primrose screamed when it fell in front of a man that was running in front of her, she shook away the panic and ran far from that area as fast as she could.

She suddenly bumped into someone, falling on the floor with them. When she looked, it was a boy close to her height – wearing an Iron Man helmet that looked really realistic and one of those toy Iron Man hands that she begged her dad to buy – but he never did.

"A-Are you okay?!" she quickly asked as they stood up.

He nodded, "Are you?!" his voice was a bit muffled because of the helmet, but he sounded concerned, "C'mon! I'll keep you safe!" he grabbed her hand and guided her through the crowd.

"You k-know the exit?" she asked as her breathing started to sound wheezy, "S-Slow down"

The boy noticed her weak voice and stopped running to look at her, she couldn't see his face but his voice was expressive enough, "Oh! Are you okay? You don't look so good!"

"I have... asthma..." she wheezed out, holding her chest with a painful expression.

"We're out! If we stay here then–" he was interrupted when the drones burst out of the Expo's entrance. Panicked people passed by them, running for their lives, but he stayed put, "Oh no stay behind me!" he exclaimed as he placed himself in front of her body in a protective manner.

The droner approached them, seemingly to lock his focus on the boy. Primrose grabbed his shoulder as she wheezed, fearfully looking at the giant drone pointing his gun at them. Then she watched the boy raise his toy glove and aim it at the drone, was that thing real? Why was he doing that?

Then she squealed when something landed beside them, and a real beam came out of nowhere, shooting the droner and shutting it down completely.

"Nice work kid–PRIMROSE?!" Iron Man sputtered at once, "SHIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Tony yelled, both scared and angry, "WHERE'S YOUR MOTHER?!"

"DADDY!" Primrose cried, hugging the suit's legs, "I got separated and I" she coughed and wheezed more, "This boy helped me, but you saved us!"

"Oh no, you're having an asthma attack. Shit shit shit–" Tony looked at the boy, who seemed to be watching them, "Hey kid, thanks for helping her. Could you take care of her for a little longer? Get as far away as possible, okay?"

"You got it, Mr. Stark," the boy nodded, his voice full of awe.

"I'll be back Prim, watch each other," Tony said before stepping away from them and flying into the air again as he noticed that Rhodey and the drones were catching up quickly.

Primrose coughed and the boy was quick to wrap an arm around her and walk with her as fast as he could. The two kept on walking for minutes, avoiding areas where screams were louder and the heavy steps were heard.

"I'm Peter, your name is Primrose, right? You're Mr. Stark's daughter, right?" Peter, aged seven, asked to distract her. Her wheezing and coughing were making him anxious, the more they walked the heavier she was starting to get. It was like she was about to faint at any second, "Both of our names start with 'P'," he chuckled weakly, "How weird is it, huh? Do you think your dad will give me a medal? Not that I'm saving you for that, you can get hurt because you got lost and I got lost as well. My aunt May and my uncle Ben must be looking for me,"

Primrose smiled, she barely could speak but his rambling was putting a smile on her face.

"PETER!"

He stopped abruptly and looked around quickly, then Primrose watched as a couple ran towards them quickly. The woman pulled him closer into a tight hug as the man, who noticed her, gently held her steady.

"Peter, oh my God, I'm so glad you're okay!" the woman cried, all Primrose could hear was a faint voice in her ears. Primrose could actually hear her own heartbeat with her wheezing getting worst, "Who's this?"

"Aunt May, she's Tony Stark's daughter, her name is Primrose! He gave me a mission, I need to protect her!" Peter quickly explained, then he looked at his uncle, "Uncle Ben, you need to carry her she has asthma!" the reason why a seven-year-old knew this, was because Ben and himself had the disease as well.

Ben nodded at once as he grabbed Primrose easily and carried her bridal style, "You did good, son, now we have to go until this has been solved," he nodded at May, and she nodded back while grabbing Peter's own hand. The Parkers plus Primrose started running away, this time much faster. They hid behind a pillar and watches a group of drones pass by, shooting ahead of them.

"Primrose, right?" Ben suddenly addressed the little girl on his arms, "I need you to stable your breathing, okay? Inhale through your nose, exhale through the mouth. Okay?" he gently persuaded her.

Primrose did as he said, and he placed her down to rest against the pillar.

"Peter, talk with her," Ben told him as he scouted the area, May scooted down to be on Primrose's level, she started humming soft tones while grabbing her hand.

The boy took off his helmet to properly speak, "Hi! Primrose, can I call you Prim or do you prefer Rose? Anyways, I like science and robots! Do you like robots? I bet you do, I'd love robots if my dad was Iron Man," he paused for a reaction, but all he got was Primrose trying to breathe through her attack, "I live in Queens with my aunt and uncle, I have a best friend named Ned Leeds and we both like Star Wars, how about you?"

Primrose shook her head, "I like... treasure planet..."

Peter frowned, "What's that?"

She gave him a deadpanned look, making May chuckle.

* * *

"You were gonna tell me? You really were dying?" Pepper exclaimed as she saw Tony's face-cam on the computer's screen.

"You complete moron! When were you going to tell us? Or Prim? When you were being buried?!" Emma yelled at him.

Emma covered her face. It seems that Agent Romanoff has completed her mission at Hammer Industries, and she was now trying to hack into the drones to shut them down. Natasha had warned Tony about this and sneakily congratulated him on not dying anymore – which Pepper and Emma heard.

"You didn't let me," Tony stated nervously.

"Why didn't you tell me that?!" Pepper exclaimed.

"I was gonna make you an omelet and tell you."

"Hey, hey. Save it for the honeymoon. You got incoming Tony. Looks like the fight's coming to you.

"Great. Pepper?"

"Are you okay now?"

"I am fine. Don't be mad. I will formally apologize to you two"

"I am mad!" Pepper cut him.

"I'm pissed!" Emma added.

"when I'm not fending off a Hammeroid attack," he completed.

"Fine," Pepper stated.

"We could have been in Venice," Tony reminded her, "With Prim!"

"Oh please..." Pepper sighed.

"Which reminds me, Em, Prim is safe. According to the GPS tracker that I placed on her clothes during our brief meeting, I'll send you the location through your phone, keep me posted."

Emma changed her demeanor from pissed to relieved, "I could kiss you!" she grabbed her phone and smiled at the beeping red circle not so far from where she was.

"Wow! Wait–what?! No way, you told me I wasn't your type!" Tony quipped, making Pepper and Emma roll their eyes.

"I'm going to find Prim!" she told Pepper.

"Go! Be careful!" Pepper said before she watched the blonde run away.

* * *

"We can't stay here much longer, they'll see us!" May told Ben, but he shook his head.

"Those damn Hammer drones went ahead of us, we're behind the chaos. Trust me May, we have to stay here." he pleaded earnestly.

She sighed and looked at Primrose, Peter took her turn to hold the girl's hand, seemingly finding this job really serious and important.

"Do you feel better?" he asked her with a gentle tone.

She nodded, "Much better!" Primrose's voice was still weak, but at least the wheezing had ceased, "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Parker!"

Ben smiled at her, "You're welcome," he was delighted to meet her. At first, he thought that Tony Stark's daughter would be this spoiled little girl, but Primrose was quite the opposite. After she calmed down, she turned out to be polite and charming.

"Do you know where your mom is?" May asked as she watched Primrose start to rise up, Peter instantly helped her.

"No, but I know she'll find me," Primrose stated confidently.

"Who's your mom? My mom was a scientist," Peter told her with a sad tone, making Ben and May exchanged a worried look.

"My mom is is a mind doctor that helps people, a psycho,"

May and Ben chuckled, "You mean a psychologist, honey?" she amended.

"Yep! That!" Primrose giggled.

"PRIMROSE!" Emma suddenly appeared next to Ben, who jumped and wrapped his wife in a protective hug. The Parkers watched as the blonde basically tackled Primrose into a hug, Peter almost didn't have the time to back away.

"Hi, mommy!" Primrose greeted her happily, hugging her back, "See, I told you she'd find me!" she grinned at Ben, who nodded back, impressed.

Emma looked at the people, keeping Primrose close to her, "Did you watched over her?"

May nodded, "Peter found her first, she was suffering from an asthma attack but my husband was able to calm her down."

Emma smiled thankfully, "That's amazing" she shared a smile with the man named Ben before turned to the little boy staring at her, "Are you Peter?"

He nodded shyly, "Yes ma'am."

"Well thank you for helping my daughter, you're a true hero," Emma told Peter, making him blush a little. He grabbed his Iron Man helmet and put it back on to hide his face, "That's an excellent copy of the real helmet, did you make it?"

Peter nodded, "Uncle Ben helped me,"

"Don't listen to him, I only helped him paint it. The rest is him," Ben quickly said, proud that his nephew was getting the recognition he deserved.

Emma took out something from her pocket, it was the official card from the clinic she was interning at, she gave it to May, "I have to go back, but when this is over please call Dr. Tanner. Give her your number and then I'll call you. I need to thank you properly for taking care of my daughter," she quickly said, looking at the couple with teary eyes.

Ben and May nodded at her, "You don't have to," he began, "But we'll call. I think both Peter and Primrose need to talk after all this." May finished as the three adults watched as Primrose and Peter interacted.

"Thanks for helping me, you'd be a good hero!"

Peter shrugged, "I guess" he was feeling really flustered from all the attention, "Be careful," Peter told her softly.

Primrose nodded, and then she kissed his helmet, "See ya, Peter Parker!"

"S-See ya..." he stuttered out.

Emma said her goodbyes as well and left with Primrose now that everything was calmer. The little girl didn't look back to see Ben teasing Peter about the helmet kiss, or May cherishing the moment her nephew made a new friend on a terrible situation.

They were going back to Pepper, Emma explained everything to Primrose. She explained about Ivan Vanko being the one doing this, about Ms. Rushman actually being a SHIELD agent like Coulson, and that her name was actually Natasha Romanoff – and that her dad needed to tell her something later, that only him could say. If she wasn't looped out on the situations, Primrose was now more scared than ever.

"So Ms. Rushman  _is_  like Kim Possible!" she was able to say before spotting someone familiar, "Mommy! That's Pepper!"

The CEO was indeed exiting the pavilion with a group of policemen surrounding her, "When they get here, I think you should station them at the south, east and both west exits." they heard Pepper order them. Then she spotted the two, "Prim! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" Pepper sighed before receiving a hug from her goddaughter.

Emma smiled tiredly, "A couple found her with their nephew and watched over her."

"Remind me that later, that couple will be rewarded," Pepper nodded at her.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to inform that we shut down the seven train in and out of Willets Point already," one of the police officers informed Pepper.

"Well, have city buses there to ferry people to operating lines," she replied while Primrose went back to stand by her mom's side.

"Yeah. Are you coming with us?" the officer asked, looking at Emma as well.

"No, I'm gonna stay until to park is clear," Pepper answered.

"And we're staying as well," Emma responded, pulling Primrose to her.

"Okay," he nodded before walking away.

Pepper gazed at the destruction Hammer's drones caused, it was all so horrible. Emma looked at her worriedly, "It's not your fault. Not even Tony's. It's Justin Hammer's fault for giving Ivan Vanko his freedom." she told her in a comforting manner, "I'm gonna go back, I forgot my purse backstage and Prim needs her inhaler."

Pepper smiled and nodded at the two, "See you later then,"

"I want to stay here mommy, I feel better," Primrose stated.

"Are you sure?" Emma knew the drones were gone, but leaving her behind after losing her to a panicked crowd made her a little clingy.

"Yep!"

"I'll watch her, don't worry," Pepper told her with a reassuring tone.

As soon as Emma walked inside the building, they heard a beeping sound coming from one of the destroyed drones. They were intrigued by it at first, but then Primrose paled, recognizing a bomb about to explode from a lot of cartoons and movies. She froze with fear, wanting to tell her confused godmother to run as the beeping sound increased its velocity.

And then, something came in fast, wrapping the two in metallic arms and flying away from the area at an amazing speed. And Primrose heard the explosions beginning, she was out of breath for being flying high in the air so fast but they looked like fireworks.

When they landed, Pepper and Primrose were finally able to let out their scream. When she immediately recognized her dad, and relief came over the body as her shaking legs finally gave in. This was too much, she was going to have a heart attack at the age of seven. Then, gentle arms raised her up and brought her to someone's chest – and when she looked up she saw her uncle Rhodey (without the helmet on) looking at her with concern.

"Come with me baby girl, you don't wanna be in the middle of what's about to happen," he carried her to the edge of the building and sat there, holding her on his lap.

"Oh my God. I can't take this anymore," Pepper exclaimed as she covered her face.

"You can't?" her dad deadpanned.

"I can't take this!" Pepper repeated, stressfully.

"Look at me," Tony argued as he gestured to himself.

"My body, literally, cannot handle the stress. I never know if you're gonna kill yourself or wreak the whole company!"

"I think I did okay," Tony stated as everything that's been covered by exploding drones burns behind him. Then another explosion.

Rhodey's phone starts vibrating from inside his suit, he takes the call when he sees it's from Emma, "EM? Are you okay?!"

_"AM I OKAY? TELL TONY WHEN I SEE I'LL KICK HIS ASS. I BARELY GOT OUT OF THE DAMN BUILDING BEFORE EVERYTHING STARTED TO GO TO SHIT! JESUS CHRIST, ARE PRIM AND PEPPER OKAY?!"_

Rhodey cringed at her yelling, but Primrose sighed in relief at her mom's safety.

"They're fine. We're all in a roof." Rhodey quickly explained, "Maybe Tony didn't see you?"

"I quit. I'm resigning. That's it." Pepper suddenly stated, making Prim and Rhodey look.

"What did you just say? You're done? That's surprising. No, it's not surprising. I get it. You don't have to make excuses." Tony told her with a bitter tone.

"I'm- I'm- I'm- not making any excuses." Pepper insisted.

"Uh I gotta call you back," Rhodey whispered.

 _"Don't hang up, I want to listen to this!"_  Emma whispered back, seemingly calmer now.

"You actually were just making excuses. But you don't have to." Tony said as he stepped closer to her.

"No, I wasn't making an excuse. I'm actually very justified," Pepper remarked as she also walked further to him.

"Listen. Hey, hey. You deserve better," Tony cut her, making Pepper speechless.

"Well"

" You've taken such good care of me, of Primrose too. I've been in a tough spot, but you got me through it, so Right?" her dad continued, making her smile.

"Thank you."

"Yeah"

"Thank you for understanding," Pepper said softly.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's talk clean-up," he quickly began, looking at the burning Expo.

"I'll handle the transition. It'll be smooth," she promised him.

"Okay. What about the press? Because you only had the job for a week. That's gonna seem"

"Well, with you it's like dog years," Pepper quipped.

Their faces seemed to be closer, Primrose perked up at that.

"Are they–"

"Sssh!" both Rhodey and Emma shushed her quickly.

"I know" Tony sighed as he gazed at her lovingly.

"I mean, it's like the Presidency–"

And then her dad kissed her godmother.

It wasn't just a peck, Primrose watched her daddy give her a long kiss! Like in those movies her mom doesn't let her watch! She covered her face, feeling the heat on her cheeks, and giggled embarrassedly.

 _"They are kissing, aren't they?"_  Emma asked Rhodey quietly, but her voice held the excitement. Maybe it was because she wanted them happy, or maybe it was the attractive paramedic that was currently assisting her inside one of the many ambulances around the building.

"Yep," Rhodey replied, smiling.

"Weird," Tony said when they broke the kiss.

"No, it's not weird," Pepper retorted.

"It's okay, right?"

"Yeah"

"Run that by me again" the genius sighs before kissing her again.

But this time they are interrupted by Rhodey, who thinks Primrose has seen too much, "I think it was weird. Especially when Prim witnessed you look like two seals fighting over a grape,"

"Oh my God, Prim!" Pepper exclaimed, covering her face with shame, "I had just quit, actually!" she quickly told Rhodey.

"Yeah, so we're not Prim–crap, are you okay? I'm sorry I–" Tony stammered out nervously.

"You don't have to do that. We heard the whole thing," Rhodey interrupted them, making Primrose giggle.

"You kissed Pepper!"

"You two should get lost, actually, Primrose where's your mom?" The color that Tony gained on his face from kissing the woman he loved drained when he finally remembered her.

 _"AH! So now I'm important? I'm okay, FYI, I'm being treated right now. Thanks for nothing,"_  Emma quipped from Rhodey's suit, obviously not angry anymore.

"And I was here first. Get a roof," Rhodey added smugly.

Tony chuckled, "I thought you were out of one-liners!"

"That's the last one," Rhodey promised, obviously lying.

"You kicked ass back there, by the way," Tony quickly added.

"Swear," Primrose mumbled.

"Thank you. You too. Listen, my car got taken out in the explosion, so I'm gonna have to hang on to your suit for a minute, okay?" Rhodey told him as he helped Primrose hop off him, "Be good baby girl, I'll catch up later."

"Not okay. Not okay with that." Tony tried as his daughter walked up to him, he instantly felt better with her around. He dreaded the moment after this when he had to tell her the truth.

"Not a question," Rhodey deadpanned before taking off into the skies, leaving the three on the roof.

"How are you gonna resign if I don't accept?" Tony suddenly told Pepper, "Prim, do you want Pepper to go away?"

"No!" the little girl exclaimed as she hugged her godmother's legs.

"Oh, that's dirty!" Pepper cooed at her.

Primrose heard her dad chuckle, and that was just music to her hears. One thing is for sure though, her mom never hung up the call with Rhodey. Were they still talking? Where did he go?

And will she ever see the Parkers again? She was worried about them after the explosions, did they made it out in the time? Primrose sighed as she gazed upon the burning Stark Expo. What a terrible, long month.

She didn't want to look up, she could hear her dad kiss Pepper again, just the noises were enough to make her shudder.


	21. Coffee Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I will write at least two more filler chapters before I begin Avengers: Assemble! Primrose is finally going to meet everyone else and she's gonna be 10-11 years old! I am so excited!

_**June 1st, 2009  
Location: Hunters Point, New York** _

_**Monday  
7:23 AM** _

Pepper and Rhodey returned back to Malibu, but Tony thought it was better to retreat back to Emma's apartment for the night after the chaotic event at Starks Expo last night. He was nervous but excited to discover more about the new relationship between him and Pepper, but she obviously, still as the CEO of Stark Enterprises (she didn't resign after all), had responsibilities and press conferences to have. Tony would talk with her later.

Now, all it mattered was Primrose and Emma.

His daughter was still asleep, she had been exhausted, both mentally and physically. But both him and Emma were wide awake, in a tense silence while Emma watched as her mug was filled with coffee from the machine. Tony already had a mug of his own, he kept looking at her back, burning it with his gaze and waiting for her to finally start a conversation.

"I'm sorry," Emma uttered as the coffee machine came into a halt. Tony watched her grab her mug and put two spoons of sugar in it with a shocked look on his expression.

"What?"

"I'm sorry–Tony, I'm really sorry. I should've seen the signs," Emma sighed out, taking a seat next to him by the kitchen's small island, "What kind of psychologist am I going to be if–"

"Stop it right there Em, don't even finish that sentence!" Tony interrupted, his tone firm and emotional, "You know it doesn't work like that! There's a reason why psychologists aren't allowed to treat family members! You work all day, probably counseling a lot of people with problems, and at the end of the day you want to treat me?" he watched as Emma looked at her mug with a sad expression, "Honey, that's not fair. Those phone calls we have, when we talk as friends – when you gave me advice when Prim was just a baby – those moments were not you counseling me, it was you being a good friend. Helping me, guiding me," he stated dutifully, placing the mug on the counter, "You are my family. Not my therapist."

Emma looked at him, awed at his words, and realizing that he was right. All this time, she has been trying to analyze his actions, try to find out what was happening with Tony as a therapist – not as a friend. She feels idiotic, "Oh God, you're right," it wasn't every day where Emma could say that "Oh Tony I'm so exhausted. I kept thinking about you when all I had to do was give you a call,"

He nodded, grabbing his mug again and taking a sip from it, "Don't apologize for something you couldn't control. I probably wouldn't have told you anything anyway, because unfortunately, I got my father's patience."

She smiled at him, "No, you don't. You're actually a better father than he will ever be."

He smirked, "Did you know, my old man was actually the one that saved my life," he looked at her with an amused expression.

"What?" she sipped on her own coffee, intrigued.

"He created a new element when I was a kid. But he didn't have the technology to actually make it real back then. But I," he tapped his arc reactor, "...did. No more poisoning."

"Holy shit, Tony, you created a new element?" Emma's brown eyes widened as she stared at his chest, "Goddamn! I'm so proud of you!" he chuckled at her reaction, "I wonder did you ever think that maybe Primrose isn't like you or your dad because of me?" Emma asked, almost hesitant.

Tony spluttered at once, "No–what?! What are you talking about? Primrose is her own person, I never expected her to be on the same genius level as I was when I was her age. I love her the way she is! I mean, the kid saw what I did at my party. I was a monster, an asshole in front of her, I fought her godfather and got drunk like a motherf–"

"I get it," Emma cut him.

"And she still asked me how I was! After all that shit she saw me do" he gave her a shocked look, "I can't believe she's actually my daughter."

She smiled sweetly at him, "But she is and she's wonderful. And..." Emma's expression became suddenly uncomfortable, "What I said in the end, about you never seeing her again"

He raised an arm at her, dismissing what she was about to say, "Hey, don't worry about it. I deserved that."

They both sipped on the coffee.

"So you and Pep, uh?" Emma began, smiling teasingly, "It was about damn time! I've been watching you two since Prim was born and it was driving me crazy!"

He gave her a grin, "I actually only realized I loved her when I was in that cave," Emma looked at him sadly, "I thought about a lot of things there, making promises that I'd do if I ever got out. Be a better friend, stop making weapons, be a better father – tell Pepper how I feel," he looked at the coffee inside his mug and chuckled weakly to himself, "I'm trying."

"You are, sweetie, and you're doing amazing. You were dying, you could've made better choices but in the end, we still love you, Tony," she leaned into him and kissed his temple, the platonic gesture was deeply appreciated by him when Tony closed his eyes and sighed softly.

Emma's chest no longer felt heavy. Everything troubling her, giving her anxiety, had been sorted out and the results were better than she expected. She leaned back and continuing sipping on her coffee, looking at him as he did the same. He was going to be all right, everything is okay. Ivan Vanko was officially dead, for good this time, Justin Hammer had been arrested and even though there were a few casualties, no one blamed Tony Stark for it. Justin Hammer was now the currently most hated man in America.

"I'm gonna talk with Prim before I leave," Tony suddenly said as he placed his mug on the counter and stood from his stool.

"Hm?" Emma inquired, slightly confused.

"I have a meeting with Director Fury, from SHIELD, soon. But I don't wanna leave without talking with her. She deserves to know the truth, right?" he asked her, slightly hoping for Emma to say no. But she nodded, and he nervously made his way down the hall to his daughter's room.

* * *

Tony stood in front of her door, it wasn't fully closed, so he could see her sleeping peacefully on her bed. He took a deep breath and walked inside, closing the door behind him.

"Prim?" he called out, feeling guilty to be waking her up so early, "Primrose, honey, wake up," Tony sat at the edge of her bed, watching as she stirred. He smiled affectionately when she scrunched her nose as her sleep was disturbed, "Prim..." placing his hand on her head, he began patting her gently.

The seven-year-old opened her eyes slowly when she felt a warm hand touching her head, she looked up to see her dad giving her a smile, "Daddy?" she said groggily. Primrose slowly sat on her bed and rubbed her eyes as a yawn escaped her mouth while she said: "Good morning,"

"Sorry, I don't speak Yeti." he quipped, making her stare at him with a sleepy smile, "Honey, daddy has to go in a few minutes. But I want to talk with you first, it that okay?"

"Sure daddy, but can't you stay for breakfast?" she asked hopefully, the events from last night were still in her mind, she wanted him to be near.

"Sorry, I can't. But don't forget this is my week with you! We didn't do the switch on Friday because daddy was naughty. The constructors are already working on fixing my house, and let's not forget that summer vacation is almost here! We'll have all the time in the world an–"

"Daddy, what happened?" Primrose interrupted, looking at him with an intense expression. She has been watching her dad rambling, and by now she knew what 'changing the subject' meant. Why was he trying to avoid conversing about what she really wanted to know?

Tony, however, looked at her startled. Primrose never did this, he was kind of proud that she was able to see through his bullshit but he was still surprised – this was new, "Oh sorry. I," he took a deep breath and beckoned Primrose to hold hands with him when he reached his arm towards her, "Honey," he started, and when she placed her small hand on his, Tony felt more confident, "Daddy was dying."

"Uh?!" Primrose panicked at once.

"But I'm okay now!" he quickly added, not wanting her to start fearing for his life, "I'm okay! I promise I fixed it. I'm not going to die anymore," he stated.

Primrose didn't hesitate to jump at him, hugging him tightly as he small body shook, "Oh no daddy"

"Oh my God, Prim I am so sorry!" he hugged her tightly, "You see daddy's arc reactor was also poisoning my blood with palladium. Daddy was slowly dying and he kept making terrible mistakes because I didn't know how to take it. I couldn't stop imagining not being for you, watching you blossom into a woman, be present during your graduation–" he choked back a sob when those dark thoughts returned, "Not hearing your laughter or seeing you smile, calling me 'daddy'," Tony heard Primrose sob as she clung to him, "I would even regret missing the day when you become a hormonal teenager that hates me for some reason," he chuckled weakly, "But now everything is okay. I'm gonna be here to see everything happening. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

"Daddy" Primrose cried, her tears falling on his shirt, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh honey" he looked up at the ceiling to keep his tears from falling, "I know, it sucks when adults keep secrets from you, but I need you to understand that daddy sometimes, is in fact, an idiot. You are everything to me in this world, and if I have to protect you from some ugly truths to keep you happy – then I will."

She sniffed and leaned back from the hug a little, just to look at him face-to-face, "But I can handle it, I'm a big girl now," Primrose stated as snot slid down her nose.

He let out a guffaw and quickly reached for the tissue package on her nightstand, "Good lord, you're right. I'm so sorry," he placed a tissue in front of her nose, "Blow," and she did, making a small trumpet sound, "But you're always going to be my little girl. No matter what," he gave a disgusted look at the tissue (making her giggle) and placed it on the nightstand, "You throw that out."

"Daddy" she whined, "I'm serious!"

"Oh boy, that's not good," he quipped but stopped when he saw Emma's upset expression through his daughter, "Yikes. Okay, I'm sorry. That's all I wanted to say. I'm sorry for being reckless, for scaring you, for hurting your uncle and for what I did to you this month," he inhaled sharply as he cupped her cheeks to squeeze them, making his daughter seem like a chubby chipmunk. He was surprised about Primrose not having a mental breakdown at this point, it was clear that the little girl had a strong mind of her own.

"Daddy!" she whined again, pushing his arms away from her face, "I forgive you if you tell me one thing."

"Hm?"

"Is Pepper your girlfriend now?" she asked timidly, seemingly that all it mattered now was the newfound relationship that began right in front of her eyes.

"Ah-Uh-Er-" he stuttered, making his daughter giggle.

"Your cheeks are red, daddy, you kissed her! You love her! Daddy and Pepper sitting on a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g! First c–" she kept rhyming even though Tony covered her mouth at this point. It was clear that he was trying to hide his embarrassment through a smile.

He hushed her plenty of time, "Prim, shush! Don't jinx it!" he mildly scolded her, "Keep singing and I'll sell all your toys."

Primrose's eyes widened, and she immediately became quiet.

He smirked, victorious, while she glared at him.

Then Emma knocked on the door, "Tony?" she looked at him with an inquisitive look, and when he uncovered Primrose's mouth and nodded at her, signalizing that everything was okay, she stepped inside of the bedroom and smiled at the two, "Natasha is at the door. She's here to take you to your secret meeting," Emma informed him while rolling her eyes, obviously it was not a secret anymore.

"Who's Natasha?" Primrose suddenly asked, making her parents pale.

"Oh boy," the genius mumbled as he rose from her bed, "Honey, you see–"

Then at that moment, Emma stepped sidely and allowed the little girl to see Natalie at her doorway. Except that she was wearing a black, full suit that looked like a scuba-diving uniform.

"Hi, Ms. Rushman!" Primrose greeted her lightly, confused to why she was here.

Natasha looked at Tony, who nodded at her. She then walked in and stood by the end of Primrose's bed, "My name is actually Natasha Romanoff, sorry for tricking you Primrose but it's complicated," she informed the little girl through a genuine smile and sad eyes.

"Uh?" was all Primrose was able to say, "Daddy?" she looked at him for answers, and Tony nodded, confirming that it was true.

"I work for SHIELD, I know you met Agent Coulson last year, do you remember him?" Natasha inputted, her voice gentle. It was like this wasn't the first time she was speaking to a child.

Primrose nodded, an awed look on her expression, "You're a secret spy? Just like in the movies?"

The three adults chuckled, "No, I'm much better. I'm like..." Natasha grinned before speaking, "Kim Possible."

That was not entirely true, but all Natasha wanted was for Primrose to not be mad at her. She's become fond of the seven-year-old and Tony Stark's daughter was who seemed to keep him more grounded during these years. Besides, the look on Primrose's face was priceless, she was just a kid so why crush her expectations with harsh truths of her being an agent and assassin? Primrose could realize the truth when she was older. Natasha had a feeling that SHIELD was not letting Stark go, even when Director Fury made the decision he did. So she had a feeling she'd see Primrose around.

"I knew it..." Primrose whispered to herself, "You're so cool! Are you still going to teach me what you did to Happy?" she asked, more shyly now.

"Uh–I think Agent Romanoff has to take me somewhere, doesn't she?" Tony quickly cut in, giving the redhead a panicked look.

"The secret meeting!" Emma implied, being on the same boat as Tony. Primrose was too young–far too young to be learning assassin moves, if she wanted to learn Karate she will sign her up in a school. Emma had nothing against Natasha but at the same time – she was scared of what her daughter could learn from her.

Natasha seemed to be thoroughly amused about the whole situation, "Sorry Primrose, I have to go," she smiled at the little girl before looking at Tony, "Follow me," and with that, the redhead was out of the room.

Tony was quick to follow but not without a quick, "I'll see you later at the airport in Malibu," he winked at his daughter, who looked slightly annoyed when Natasha didn't respond to her question.

"Bye daddy," she grumpily mumbled.

Emma followed them to walk them out, leaving Primrose alone in her bedroom. The brunette sighed and lied back down, she felt so much better. The thought about her daddy dying still scared her, but if he said that he was okay now then she'll believe him. She just couldn't believe it, Natalie was actually named Natasha. Her daddy and godmother kissed. The Expo scare oh!

She rose up from her bed quickly, "Mommy!" she called out as she heard the entrance's door close, "Mommy!" hopping out of the bed, she almost fell down when her sheets tangled around her shin. But she was able to catch herself before running outside, to the hall, where her mom was already walking back to her calls, "Mommy!"

"What is it? What?!" Emma asked her urgently.

"What about that family that saved me? Are they okay?!" she asked her mom with a panicked tone.

Emma paled slightly, now knowing the answer, "I'm sure they're fine. They evacuated the place before all the drones started exploding" she told her daughter with a somehow confident smile.

"Really?"

"Yes! I was there, remember? I'm sure Mrs. Parker will call my clinic and then we'll ask them to have dinner with us. Don't worry."

Primrose frowned, "Not this week! I'm gonna be with dad!"

Emma nodded, cupping her face gently and pressing a kiss on her head, "Of course, now go take a shower. You stink of explosions."

Primrose blinked at her, scrunching her nose, "You're so weird, mommy."


	22. Parli Italiano, Primrose?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter and I'll start on the 'Avengers: Assemble'. Obviously, I'm going to write a huge time skip but I'll still try to include as much info about what Primrose did over the years as possible!

**_Primrose's Age: Seven Years Old_ **

**_June 2009_ **

Seeing the Hulk fight a monster in Harlem was definitely a strange way to start her summer vacation, even when she was safely in California Primrose had been worried about her mom, but Emma brought relief when she told her that it happened far away from Queens and that she was safe.

However, the next day, she and her dad went to New York again, to visit a man named General Ross. Primrose was supposed to stay inside the car with Happy but she refused to stay away from her dad – so Tony brought her inside the bar the General was. The conversation about them, about her dad telling Ross that a team was being put together, confused Primrose a little bit. But she didn't speak, she was quiet the entire time. Her dad wanted to recruit a man called Emil Blonsky – the apparent monster that Hult defeated in Harlem.

General Ross said no, her dad's behavior enraged him so he refused to give Blonsky to SHIELD.

They went back home afterward, her daddy was a little grumpy but it didn't affect him long.

Primrose enjoyed her time with her daddy, he even taught her a little Italian as she watched him work on more Mark suits, she wasn't fluent but at least she learned that her grandma Maria had been Italian, which makes her one-fourth Italian as well – that enough was what fueled her need to learn Italian even more. To honor her late grandma and her dad as well.

When she returned to Queens, the first thing Primrose did was greet her mom in Italian, which Emma was delighted about. At dinner, the two began talking about heritage and Emma told her about the estranged Portuguese family Primrose had, which made the little girl excited. So she decided to learn Italian and Portuguese first. Emma told her to enjoy her summer vacation, but Primrose had her dad's stubbornness and told her mom she'd have a lot of vacations to come.

So, three days after talking between each other, Tony and Emma hired a tutor for her daughter to learn Italian – then if she still wanted to, next year she'd start learning Portuguese.

Primrose was so happy that Emma didn't want to ruin it by mentioning that the Parkers never called her back, maybe her daughter forgot about it or maybe it wasn't that important. But Emma couldn't help to feel a little bit disappointed because when she met Peter she got a feeling that she'd seen him somewhere. And that maybe, he could've been a good friend for her daughter to have.

Emma was hopeful they would call someday, but when she went to work her supervisor told her that she didn't receive any calls from a Ben or May Parker.

* * *

_**July 2009** _

Her Italian lessons were going well. She had them four hours a day, except on weekends, not to overwhelm Primrose that much. Whenever she was at her dad's, he was her tutor, because he was fluent in Italian and because that's how Maria Stark taught him. Tony felt pride that he could teach his daughter the way his own mother did, he felt like he was passing a heritage other than what his father left behind with the Stark name. He would never want to make Primrose feel pressured because of her last name.

Primrose was enjoying her time, learning a new language was difficult but she was so focused during her lessons, earning to learn it so much. He tutor would praise her a lot and her parents were proud of her progress.

Tony took Primrose to a Country Club where she proceeded to learn how to swim by an instructor for the rest of the week, she was scared at first because her father did it as a "surprise" but both him and Emma decided it was time their daughter learned how to swim because it was an essential need for a human.

At the end of the week, Primrose didn't need to floaters to keep her from sinking on the water, but that didn't mean Tony didn't stop watching over her while she swam with the other children from wealthy families.

That week was when Primrose met Brittany Biersack. A girl that obviously was the "leader" of the group of children that would always be there every summer, dropped by their parents that were too busy to pay attention to them. She would braggy about what her mommy would buy her every time she threatened to throw a tantrum, and she was actually teaching the other kids to do the same thing. But when Primrose said that throwing tantrums on purpose was a bad thing to do, Brittany called her an idiot and told her that Primrose's swimming suit was ugly like her face.

Obviously, Primrose was shocked. So she cried when she was insulted for the first time and ran off to her father. She didn't tattletale but she definitely stayed away from Brittany and her nasty friends, hoping to never see them again.

* * *

_**August 2009** _

Primrose now would understand Italian better, but not fluently yet. She could respond to basic questions, say short words or sentences and she was now watching her favorite movies all in Italian with English subtitles.

Emma was so supportive and proud that she took the week off and took her daughter on a trip to Italy. Tony was generous and offered them one of his luxurious private planes, Emma appreciated it. The two girls departed from America on Saturday at four in the morning and landed eight hours later in Ciampino Aiport, just twenty minutes away from Rome City Centre.

Tony again surprised them, by being there. He laughed and explained that he had gotten on a private jet as soon as he dropped Primrose with Emma on Friday and decided to surprise the two: now it was an authentic family vacation.

Primrose was jubilant that both her parents were with her in Italy, especially when there was no bad guy after her daddy. And when she was distracted while Tony drove his red Ferrari from the airport to the city, Emma asked why he decided to come. Tony simply said that Primrose's first time in another country had been horrible because of Vanko, he wanted to make sure she'd forget it and make this trip as her new childhood memory of her first family vacation. Besides, his mom was born in this country before immigrating to America when she was five years old.

Emma loved when Tony was like this, with his daughter he was much more relaxed and true to himself.

Since it was lunchtime in Italy and they didn't want the jetlag to get them, the three went to lunch in a place Tony had prior the day of their arrival. They had the best lunch and Primrose would not rest until she had an authentic spaghetti bolognese.

Emma later found out (and she was a bit upset about it) that Tony canceled her reservation at the hotel she had chosen, and instead took them to the hotel where he was. He apologized, but then stated that he couldn't let his daughter and his sister (that's when Emma stopped being upset, Tony cringed so hard when he said it) stay at a three-star-hotel! He took them to the prestigious Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria Hotel and told Emma that she and Primrose would be staying at the Bellavista Penthouse Suite while he stayed at the Villa Medici Presidential Suite, Emma noticed that her suite was the most expensive one in the hotel but she wasn't able to complain about it as soon as Primrose threw herself at the bed and started jumping on it – also, the view from the suite was magnificent, they didn't need the telescope because nothing hindered the view from the city and the grand and imposing monument of Victor Emmanuel II.

So Emma allowed Tony to pamper them for the rest of the trip, she's been working hard and this was her actual first vacation ever since she was twenty-year-old, so she gave up and enjoyed every moment.

On Sunday, the next day, they visited The Colosseum. Even Primrose was able to admire the intricate architecture and learn about the history of the gladiators – but not the gory part, Emma and Tony wouldn't allow it. Then they visited the Roman Forum Next to the Colosseum, it was the center of public life. Primrose learned that politics, religion, and commerce all converged in that place. Tony told his daughter that archeologists uncover more layers of history and ruins here all the time, Primrose was amazed!

After a busy morning, they had lunch and decided to relax by exploring tourist stores and buying gifts for their friends.

Then they visited the Pantheon – one of Rome's most fascinating buildings due to its impressive dome. It was the largest dome in the world until the 15th century, and it is still the largest non-reinforced concrete dome ever built. Emma took a photo of Primrose being bathed in sunlight when she stood under the dome, it was a perfect photo of a happy little girl and even Tony quickly told her to later send it to him.

To finish the day, they went to the Trevi Fountain. In a city full of fountains, this one drew the attention of Primrose the most. The huge fountain takes up most of the piazza, and Tony told her that legend has it that you will return to Rome if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain. Primrose asked him for a coin, which he gave, and Primrose closed her eyes and wished with her all heart to one day return to Rome with her parents and have a good vacation again. Then she threw her coin and turned around to watch it fall with a happy grin on her face.

Emma took photos of every moment, she was going to add it to Primrose's photo album.

They sat there for a while during the sunset, it was a calming area soon as the tourists started to go away. While Primrose was after some pigeons, Tony asked Emma if she was thinking about dating someone.

Emma was shocked at him but told him she didn't know. All this time she's been caring for Primrose and working, nothing else. Sure, she would occasionally have lunches with Joan but that was it – there was no man in her life that piqued her interest.

Tony was understanding, but he also said that if she ever meets a guy, to go for it. Because now that he had Pepper, it showed Emma that they were allowed to date someone else without confusing Primrose – those times are done. Primrose knows that they are not together just because they are her parents, their daughter won't resent them for that.

Emma hadn't realized that before, but she thanked Tony.

Before returning back to the hotel, they had dinner in La Pergola. Emma and Tony had the Sirloin steak with vegetable textures and Primrose had spaghetti with white shrimps marinated in lime. The total of the food made Emma pale but she still argued that she wanted to pay half of it, Tony wasn't having it. She could buy them lunch if she wanted but he was paying dinner.

That was the deal.

The rest of the week continued on smoothly.

They visited the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori where Primrose met a lovely old woman selling fruit that told her she reminded her of her granddaughter, she gave Primrose a bag full of delicious grapes for free because of that and then Primrose had a conversation in broken Italian with her – which made the old woman correct her in a gentle way and explain how to say it well. Primrose would never forget that moment.

The days passed and the continue their trip by visiting Castel Sant'Angelo and finally the Vatican City. Primrose didn't know if she believed in God, her parents never forced religion on her, even though Emma's parents were Catholic and begged Emma to baptize her daughter – she refused to, wanting Primrose to be free to choose her religion. But this is the home of the Catholic Church and the extensive Vatican Museums, Primrose thought everything was pretty, and when she saw the Sistine Chapel, the little girl teared up emotionally from the well-detailed art, she never felt more inspired in her life. She made a lot of questions about the artists, told her mom to take a lot of photos of the walls. Everywhere she looked she would be even more flabbergasted.

And then Primrose saw the ceiling, and she finally realized she was in a place wherein a lot of movies – that drawing from the ceiling appeared. She sat down and stared at the ceiling for minutes, she could've stayed there for hours if her parents didn't call her to leave. Emma promised she took a lot of photos of the ceiling, but Primrose walked out of the Chapel always looking up, she had been so amazed.

Her love for art and Italy grew fonder that day.

There was a day left in Italy, so Tony decided to take them on a three-hour trip to Florence. He decided to go there for Primrose mostly because as soon as they arrived he took them to Uffizi Gallery where they explored roughly fifty rooms of art from a wide variety of time periods, and where Primrose almost lost it with excitement when she saw 'The Birth of Venus' painting.

They then went to Galleria dell'Accademia, where Tony had to cover Primrose's face when the little girl giggled at the David statue by Michaelangelo.

With time running out, they decided to have a quick stop by Piazza del Duomo, where Primrose inspiration peaked again with the colors and details of the cathedral's facade.

They returned to Rome to check-out from the hotel and on Saturday afternoon they were back in America.

Primrose had the best vacation in her life, she even forgot about Brittany Biersack. After another week with her dad, when she returned to New York, she told her tutor about her trip and about the old woman that she talked with in Italian – the tutor was proud and let Primrose show her the photos of her trip before starting the lesson.

Tony and Emma were glad that Primrose at least had a good memory from this year.

* * *

**_September 2009_ **

Primrose started third grade. Her first homework was to write what she did during her summer, so Primrose wrote about her Italian classes, learning how to swim and her trip to Italy. She drew her tutor, a mean looking Brittany making fun of her while she swam, her parents smiling with her in Italy (she drew the monuments by copying them from the photos) and that in the end, she had the best summer ever.

* * *

**_October, 17th, 2009_ **

Primrose turned eight years old. This year her birthday was in New York with her mom. Emma took Primrose to see 'Wicked' on Broadway, then they went to the Natural History Museum and finished the day by having a picnic filled with snacks and ice cream in Central Park before going home.

Primrose received a Tamagotchi from Rhodey, which she proceeds to name it Morph in honor of her favorite creature from 'Treasure Planet'. A painting canvas from Emma, more art supply from Tony, a set of professional drawing pencils and pens from Pepper and a Sylvanian Families Caravan from Happy.

That night, Tony called Primrose through Emma's phone and sang her the happy birthday song with a sweet voice, it made Primrose's cheek hurt from smiling so hard. Emma left them alone in her daughter's bedroom as the two talked about the day, Primrose thanked her dad for his gift and told him to hug Pepper, Uncle Rhodey and Happy for her as a 'thank you'. Tony asked if he could kiss them instead, to which Primrose quickly said yes.

She told her dad about Morph, and how well she was taking care of it. Primrose asked her dad if she was a good mom to Morph could she have a real puppy? Emma had told her daughter that taking the puppy between houses and changing its environment would be stressful for it but Primrose really wanted a pet.

Tony promised he'd get her a pet, but for her not to get too excited.

Primrose got, reasonably, excited.

* * *

**_November 2009_ **

Primrose started liking games, or at least computer games such as The Sims 2 and the games from Disney's website (her favorite one was Tipton Trouble and Kim Possible: a Stitch in Time). Emma has never seen her daughter pay much attention to the computer they owned, Emma mostly used the laptop Tony upgraded while she was pregnant and having online classes on (Tony told her it was in a serious need of another upgrade but Emma liked it the way it was), so it was surprising for Emma to see her daughter click and type away on the computer so easily at her age.

It was no lie that Primrose's generation would grow in a technological world but Emma still imposed some rules now that her daughter liked the computer: she could only be there two hours a day, she was not allowed to click on ads (Emma explained what those were), she can't talk with strangers or give personal information when a site asks for it and Primrose always has to ask permission to play certain games.

With that, Primrose had fun. She wasn't always on the computer – Primrose still had school, Italian lessons and she'd prefer to draw over playing games.

* * *

**_December 2009_ **

Tony and Pepper kidnapped Primrose and took her to Hawaii for Christmas.

Well, they didn't exactly kidnap her but Tony liked saying it. They stayed in the Halekulani Hotel and went to the beach all day, Tony helped Primrose make sandcastles while Pepper took photos to later show Emma, Rhodey, and Happy.

They went to Magic Island, Waikiki Beach and then they enjoyed the Christmas' Eve luau. Primrose fell asleep late, she had her own bedroom while Tony and Pepper shared one – let's just say that they enjoyed their night as well but in a different way.

On the warm Christmas morning, Tony and Pepper were awakened by Primrose's excited squeals that Santa ate the cookies and drank the milk they left, she was actually shocked.

Primrose got 'The Sims 3' game for Christmas, which she loved!

The three spent Christmas day on the beach, relaxing, before returning to Malibu. 

This year might've been awful for a month and even more terrible for Tony who had to keep the secret that he was dying for a longer time, but at least Primrose was able to end the year on a happier tone.


	23. Capsicle Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After this one, we'll return to canon!
> 
> Timeskip done: One year and six months.

**_Primrose's Age: Nine years old._ **

**_July 2011_ **

Primrose had grown a lot over the year.

She definitely got taller, her hair passed past her shoulders and she has improved her Italian a lot. She was now taking Portuguese lessons as well, she has been for six months now and Primrose never forgot about Natasha Romanoff, even though she hasn't seen her since the morning after the destruction of Stark Expo. Primrose would think about her sometimes, and about her awesome secret agent moves. That's why, after begging her mom a lot, Emma signed her up in NY Martial Arts Academy in Astoria, making Primrose officially a white belt in karate.

But nothing was more important than finding out her dad was building the Stark Tower in Midtown Manhattan. When Tony told her the news back in August last year, she hugged her dad and celebrated the fact that they'd see each other more now. Tony bought the iconic MetLife Building and ripped off the top adding his own piece of parasitic architecture to the top. In order to expand the power base of his company, opening a branch closer to the American business and financial districts as a positive move (especially after the destruction of the Stark Expo, the PR was significantly boosted because her dad created hundreds of new jobs in New York).

The best part was: she could see the building from her bedroom window, across the East River. And it was only fifteen minutes away by car! Primrose was so excited about it that she'd ask almost every day how long would the tower be ready for her to visit.

She and her mom watched Pepper on the television giving an interview about the new Stark Tower, Emma and she were very impressed about it.

During the whole excitement, whenever Primrose was back at her dad's in Malibu, Happy told her about a British show called 'Downtown Abbey' and since he would ramble about how fancy it was, Primrose started watching it as well. She thought it was a bit boring, but decided not to ruin Happy's favorite show just because of it. Besides now the two did something together, and Primrose wanted to be closer to Happy because he was like an uncle to her - even though she never addressed him as such because he's always been 'Happy'.

* * *

**_September 2011_ **

Primrose could not believe she was officially in middle school starting fifth grade. She again begged her parents to go to a normal school, but they said it wasn't possible just yet – that maybe next year she could since Stark Tower would be finished by then. Primrose was a little saddened by not having friends her age, the  _yukyusha_  (beginner students) at the dojo only knew her for two months and her only friends that were not her parents or adult figures in her life were the robots her dad created and JARVIS.

Sometimes she remembered Peter, making her sad as well that the Parkers never called back. It also made her think that the worst happened and that they died during the explosions that Ivan Vanko set in his drones that destroyed Stark Expo.

At least she still had Morph, her Tamagotchi pet, and her households in 'The Sims 3' game. They weren't real but at least they brought her happiness. No pets yet, she still reminded her dad that he'd promised her one.

Her daddy was working harder than ever on his suits and on Stark Tower, Primrose found that very amazing and cool. He even told her about this new magnets that Pepper gave him that could improve in his new armor.

* * *

**_October 2011_ **

On the eighth day of the month, Primrose watched with her dad on television that Steve Rogers aka Captain America's body was found frozen, but alive thanks to the serum running in his body and he was now thawed and awake. His whereabouts were unknown, all they knew was that he was resting and to be patient about Captain America's recovery into the new century.

Primrose was shocked, but her dad was even more. She knew that her grandpa worked with Steve when he became Captain America, Tony told her that her grandpa was actually the man that helped insert the serum into his body, but for Steve Rogers to actually be alive after sixty-six years of being frozen?

That was a miracle.

Her father was quickly on the phone with SHIELD, obviously talking with Nick Fury. He wanted to meet him, but he was denied. Primrose knew her dad was upset, but she didn't know why. There wasn't a lot of things that she knew about her grandparents but the brunette knew that her dad and her grandpa had a tense relationship – even when the reason that her daddy was still alive was because of her grandfather, she could see that her dad still held some resentment from the past.

The day before leaving back to New York, Primrose finally took the courage to ask why he wanted to see Captain America so much.

Tony sat her down and explained that during his childhood, his father had an obsession to find Steve Rogers' body, that he was rarely home and barely paid any attention to him because of that during his childhood.

"It was like he loved him as a son more than he did me," her dad had bitterly stated.

That worried Primrose, "Then why do you want to meet him? You're not going to hurt him right? He did nothing wrong he wasn't even there," she told him carefully.

Tony had smiled sadly, "I know that, honey."

She felt like there were things she was not telling him, that he was doing the 'if I have to lie to protect you' ordeal. That made her feel upset, but not at her dad, at herself for not being older or more mature. Sometimes Primrose wished she was a genius like her dad, maybe by now, she'd be in college and then have the rest of her life building things with her dad.

But she wasn't a genius. And she didn't understand robotics.

Her mom told her she was intelligent in other areas, such as art, languages and she was getting good at Karate, her Grandmaster was at least impressed with her ability to fit in with her classmates and to learn quickly. Primrose was almost fluent in Italian now and she could read and speak Portuguese well enough. And she was happy that her martial arts skills were improving, that at least was fun, but would her drawings take her somewhere? She wanted to invest herself in something that would make her parents proud, that would make the world think that she was good enough to be a Stark.

Primrose knows that the adults in her life, especially her parents, try to hide that the media speaks ill of the little girl about her intelligence as a Tony Stark's daughter, they "fear" that SE is in danger if Tony's 'not-so-genius' daughter takes over it.

Primrose was getting tired of being protected from the truth, but she remained silent about it.

When she returned to New York City, the news channels only talked about the return of Captain America for a week. Her mom was sure getting tired of hearing about it.

On the seventeenth, when Primrose turned ten years old, her parents seemed more emotional than her other birthdays. This year everyone decided to celebrate it in Malibu, even though it was Emma's turn to have Primrose for her birthday, she was in need of a day off from the big apple that couldn't shut up about Captain America.

The reason why her parents, and everyone, was so emotional about her birthday was that it has been a decade since she was born. She was now a double-number lady. She caught her parents hugging each other while her mom cried, even if it was from happiness Primrose thought that they were also celebrating a passing, and that confused her.

But she quickly forgot about all the emotional mess when she received a baby leopard gecko. Tony and Emma talked over a first pet for their daughter. They couldn't fit in a dog or a cat with her schedule and because it would stress the animal if they had to travel every week. So after researching for good first pets for children, small lizards were the first and most popular option. And after more research, they decided with the leopard gecko.

Tony showed and explained Primrose the brochure that he got in 'How to Care for a Baby Gecko' and he warned his daughter to follow the information or else the little gecko would not survive. Emma had already bought the essentials back in New York, and that's where it would stay as well. In all this, Primrose was crying from happiness because her new gecko was so small and adorable.

She named it Jimbo, again a name from her favorite movie, and promised to be a good mommy.

When they returned to New York, Primrose was quick to take Jimbo out of his temporary box and place it in its tank, under the over-the-tank heat bulb. Primrose knew that the tank temperatures should be monitored daily with "point and shoot" temperature gun. Her mom told her that baby geckos ate small crickets and mealworms daily, and that Jimbo was too small to reach the dish so she'd have to be the one feeding it.

Primrose didn't mind, she wasn't scared of bugs – except spiders, she was petrified of those.

Jimbo was a little skittish at first when Primrose tried to hold it after two weeks (she had to wait until Jimbo got used to its new home), her mom told her it was normal, but handling Jimbo a little can help acclimate it to touch and make it less afraid. Primrose read in the brochure that she needed to be extra careful when holding Jimbo because until it reached three inches long, her baby gecko could get injured. So she'd only hold Jimbo for five-ten minutes before gently placing it back in the tank.

One thing Primrose knew was that leopard geckos are nocturnal so she sometimes would hear Jimbo move in its tank at night, it made her feel relaxed actually, knowing that it was alive.

* * *

**_November 2011_ **

Primrose started to work towards her goals and starting to succeed a lot during her karate classes, she began feeling empowered with self-confidence and started to learn how to work with her own strengths and weaknesses and believe in her own abilities. She had a good Sensei, one with a firm and strict personality that was there to make sure she and everyone in the class would succeed.

During the four months of lessons, Primrose learned stomach and head level punches, forward and side back fists, short punches and rising and round elbow strikes.

This week her class was learning about blocking. The first lesson being the rising head level block. Her partner was a Japanese girl named Hanae Sato, she lived in Astoria and was the only girl that Primrose talked in a more comfortable way. The two didn't speak to each other when Primrose arrived, but after being paired up they first had this on-going rivalry for Sensei's praising – which ended when Primrose quipped a small joke that made Hanae laugh.

The two became unlikely friends, even though they were quite the opposite. Hanae was a serious girl, only two months older than Primrose but very mature and intelligent for her age. Soon their classmates started to notice that the intimidating Japanese girl would only crack a smile for Primrose, which they find odd.

Nevertheless, they always paired up together.

As they would practice, Hanae would tell Primrose how to say the blocking techniques in Japanese. She had done the same thing when they learned the striking ones and Primrose reminded herself to ask her parents to learn Japanese when she was done with Portuguese.

"No, it's pronounced 'joe-dan a-geh oo-kay'," Hanae corrected Primrose as the brunette blocked her head level punch.

When class was dismissed, and while Primrose waited for her mom to pick her up, the two talked with each other while sitting on the bench at the lobby. She learned more about Hanae, finding out that she was born in Saitama, in Tokyo's prefecture, but moved to America when she was four years old because of her father's job. Hanae adjusted well enough as she learned basic English before starting first grade but she also admitted not being able to make friends because of her personality.

Primrose liked Hanae, she was always glaring and looked intimidating but inside she just didn't like certain people. When Primrose asked why Hanae talked with her, she replied with a simple 'you made me laugh. You said a joke in a tense moment. That's a trait that either a fool or a brave person has'. In the end, it was about respect, because even though Hanae and Primrose had nothing in common they still liked each other's company.

Emma loved that her daughter had a friend now. She didn't care that her friend was a bit quiet when she came over for a sleepover for the first time by the end of the month.

Hanae had been so respectful and polite that Emma couldn't care less if she was wearing a clown costume – her daughter had a friend, a real one!

And a sleepover, too! Primrose was a little embarrassed when her mom showed too much excitement, but Hanae didn't seem fazed about it.

When Emma told Tony about the sleepover, the genius almost wanted to go there and meet Hanae from excitement, but Pepper and Emma stopped him because they didn't want to scare Primrose's friend away.

Primrose happily showed Hanae her pet gecko, her bedroom and her collection of Disney movies. Hanae brought her own current favorite movie to watch with Primrose, which was 'Spirited Away'.

And that's how Primrose fell in love with Studio Ghibli's art style and vowed to watch all of the movies in a day if she had to.

* * *

_**December 2011** _

Primrose told her parents about her interest in animation.

So, during her Christmas's break, Tony took her to Pixar Animation Studios for a tour. There Primrose learned that they had internships for both Animators and Artists so now she was torn in what to be. All Primrose knew is that she loved drawing.

After the tour, Tony took his daughter to Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe and told her that she was too young to even think about her future. That even maybe until there, she could change her mind and even become a doctor or a teacher – the future was uncertain, and Tony thought that Primrose didn't have to stress about her future so soon.

He changed the conversation towards Stark Tower, and he gave her the good news that early next year, the tower would officially open. Primrose asked if her daddy was going to live there now, and Tony's answer was that he'd sometimes stay there but his main house was still in Malibu but that Primrose could already go there and choose her bedroom to begin decorating it.

Christmas arrived and Emma took her daughter to ice skating in Central Park, where the two had fun almost (and actually) falling on their butts. They then had lunch in a Japanese restaurant called Mifune New York and then made their way to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas Trees displays – they took a lot of photos, especially when Primrose had a cocoa mustache after Emma purchased two cocoas from a stand nearby. At night, Emma took her daughter to Broadway to see 'Mary Poppins' and for dinner afterward, they returned to Queens and went to a bodega in Sunnyside and bought two subs with bags of chips and cupcakes for the dessert.

Primrose liked when the owner, a man named Mr. Delmar, let her pet his orange kitten but giggled when he flirted with her mom. Emma knew it was a good-natured flirt, but couldn't help to feel flushed anyways.

When they got home, Primrose fed Jimbo and wished it a 'Merry Christmas' before eating dinner with her mom in front of the television. They watched 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', 'The Polar Express', 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' but the two ended up falling asleep while 'Home Alone' was on.

When Emma woke up, the movie was at the part where the bad guys were being caught in all types of traps, she tried not to move too harshly because of her sleeping daughter when she reached for her phone and sighed when she saw it was almost four in the morning.

Deciding to not move, Emma simply turned off the television and went back to sleep as Primrose leaned towards her. The two slept peacefully as snow began to gently fall outside – it was a quiet, Christmas night.


	24. New People, Same Banter - Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avengers, here we go! Oh my God, I am so excited! I'm sorry if there are some parts that seemed rushed, there are only a few scenes I can put Primrose in.
> 
> Transcript by 'archangelraphaelsdaughter' and movie belongs to Marvel!

**_Primrose's Age: Ten years and seven months old.  
Location: New York City, Stark Tower_ **

**_May 2nd, 2012  
8:22 PM_ **

Primrose loved staying at Stark Tower, and she was going to stay here for an extra week since her mom was out of town on a convention. Her bedroom was spacious, the view was amazing and the best thing was that she had her own drawing room. But today was a special day, her dad has been working on a miniaturized Arc Reactor and how he was somewhere underwater, near the power lines of the tower, to make it online and power the newly opened Stark Tower.

She and Pepper were waiting for Tony, they were slightly nervous since this was a big deal for Pepper, who helped to build the tower with her dad.

 _"Good to go on this end – the rest is up to you,"_  Tony's voice sounded from the communicator connected on his suit.

Primrose was sitting on a chair by the desk as Pepper carefully watched the new energy stabilizing, "You disconnected the transmission lines?" Pepper asked, "Are we off the grid?"

 _"Stark Tower's about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy,"_ Primrose heard her dad declare as JARVIS' diagnostics of the tower formed a hologram in the opposite corner of them.

Primrose was used to seeing the holograms, but they never ceased to impress her every time. She tried drawing with them, or with a tablet, but she realized she preferred the more traditional way of drawing – with a pencil.

"Well, assuming the arc reactor takes over and it actually works," Pepper told him with a worried tone.

"It'll work! You'll see!" Primrose commented cheerfully, trying to comfort her.

 _"I assume as my daughter thinks. Light her up,"_  Tony conceded.

Primrose watched as Pepper obeyed and witnessed the lights outside turning bright blue instantly, making her smile with relief. She couldn't wait to see the giant 'STARK' sign shining from her bedroom back in Queens.

"How does it look, daddy?" Primrose asks as she stands from her chair to be next to her godmother.

 _"Like Christmas – but with more... me,"_  her dad answered, enthralled.

Primrose giggled while Pepper smiled knowingly, "You mean, us! I also have your last name," the ten-year-old inputted smartly.

 _"Of course, honey,"_  Tony quickly said with an amused tone.

"We've got to go wider on the public awareness campaign – you need to do some press," Pepper told her dad, "I'm in D.C tomorrow, I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings–"

 _"Pepper, you're killing me,"_  he interrupted as Primrose saw her dad slow down his flight as he reached the top of the tower,  _"The moment, remember – enjoy the moment."_

"Yeah Pepper, look how pretty it looks!" Primrose happily said, "I'm so proud!"

"Okay, you two win. Now get in here Tony, enjoy the moment with us." the CEO chuckled, flattered by them.

As Pepper kept her eyes on the hologram, Primrose watched her dad walk down a row of steps, the sides of the landing platform leading into the tower retracted downwards and the ring that he had landed tilted vertically as it followed her dad's side. The mechanical arms of the platform unfolded and reached to remove her dad's helmet from his head and she noticed that he seemed to be talking to himself – or probably JARVIS.

When her dad's suit was completely removed, she quickly smiled at him when Tony walked inside the room, he smiled back.

"Levels are holding steady," Pepper announced, the clear screen in front of her depicting the tower and a magnification of the arc reactor at its base, and their corresponding power levels, "I think" she added, biting her lip with uncertainty.

"Of course they are – I was directly involved," Tony arrogantly surmised, making Primrose quickly roll her eyes, as he drew closer to them, "Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius?" he asked Pepper brightly, removing his ear speaker and tossing it onto the desk's surface.

"Well, ha, I really wouldn't know, now would I?" Pepper replied as she turned to face him, leaning back against the tabletop behind her.

"That's not true," Primrose quickly piped in, not hesitating to disagree when her godmother talked lowly about herself. Primrose felt lucky to be surrounded by powerful and intelligent women – she looked up to her mom and her godmother so much and she only hoped to be as hard-working as them when she reaches adulthood.

Even Natasha, who she hasn't seen in three years, left a good impression on younger Stark which began the idea of her wanting to learn martial arts, and thanks to that she now knew how to defend herself.

Primrose has been taking karate lessons for ten months now and she had graduated to an orange belt with Hanae and the rest of her dojo class. Everyone was proud of her and Tony even offered to be her practice partner, which resulted in the two bonding over it. And Tony getting bruises all over his legs since Primrose was a sharp kicker.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Tony asked Pepper as he powered down the computer's holograms, "All this–" he swiveled his right index finger around, "–came from you!"

Primrose nodded, agreeing with her dad. Pepper worked hard on this tower as well.

"No, all this came from that," Pepper argued, tapping the arc reactor that was on Tony's chest.

He smirked, "Give yourself some credit, please," he held her upper arms and stated, "Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself twelve percent of the credit."

"Twelve percent?" Both Pepper and Primrose repeated flatly.

Tony looked at the two with amusement clear on his expression, "An argument can be made for fifteen," he countered quickly, making Primrose giggle.

"Twelve percent of my baby?" Pepper scoffed as she walked past him, her bare feet silent on the grey tile.

Primrose followed her after shaking her head with fake disappointment at her dad to the middle of the living room section. Several low chairs stationed around a glass coffee table, there Primrose grabbed her sketchbook and took a seat on the carpet, where she watched her dad and godmother playful bantering.

"Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally – I lifted the heavy things. And, sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you." her dad defended.

"Oh?" Pepper drawled as she knelt in the middle of the living room, she lifted one of the two champagne flutes that were set on its surface and Primrose took the chance to grab her Capri Sun. The champagne bottle and her juice have been on the coffee table to celebrate the clean energy.

"My private elevator–"

"You mean," Pepper pointed at herself and then at Primrose, who grinned at him, "our elevator?" she interjected before pouring the champagne into the glasses.

"–i-it was teeming with sweaty workmen," he continued in disgust before foreboding as he sat between her and his daughter on the carpet, "I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I?"

"Yep," Primrose mumbled before sipping on her juice.

"And it's not going to be that subtle," Pepper added with a smile as she handed him his glass.

Tony thought for a second before speaking, "I'll tell you what, next building is gonna say 'Potts' on the tower," he offered.

"On the lease," Pepper countered as she grinned.

Primrose didn't know what a lease was, but she also didn't want to interrupt them. She always liked seeing her dad and her godmother banter like this – especially now that they've been dating for three years. Their relationship had its ups and downs, there were times where they even almost broke up but Primrose saw that they always managed to stay together. She almost asked her dad if he was going to marry Pepper one day but she decided not to it, afraid that her dad would say no.

"Call your mom, can you bunk over?" Tony jokingly recoiled, making Pepper laugh.

 _"Sir, the telephone,"_  JARVIS interrupted, making Tony sigh,  _"I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden."_

"Don't tire yourself, uncle JARVIS," Primrose said with a worried tone. Primrose knew that JARVIS was an artificial intelligence created by her dad, but she couldn't help sometimes worry about him like he was actually a human being – one of her uncles. The two had long conversations, he would sometimes help her with her homework of language lessons and he's been with her since she was born. JARVIS was like a guardian watching over her.

"Ugh, great now you worried Prim," her dad groaned as he lifted the small clear rectangle that served as a phone.

 _"Sorry, sir. Don't worry about me, Ms. Evans-Stark, I'm feeling rock and roll,"_ JARVIS quipped at her, making her grin.

 _"Mr. Stark, we need to talk,"_  Coulson's voice relayed from the hologram coming out of her dad's phone.

Primrose watched them interested, she hasn't seen Coulson in a while.

"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark," her dad began to Pepper and Primrose's muffled giggles, "Please leave a message."

 _"This is urgent,"_  Coulson pressed.

"Then leave it urgently," Tony recommended with impatience just as the elevator doors slid open on the other side of the room to reveal agent Coulson standing, exasperated, with his cell, held to his ear, "Security breach!" her dad called instantly before addressing Pepper again, "This is on you."

"Mr. Stark," the agent greeted as he ended the call and entered onto the floor.

"Phil! Come in!" Pepper hailed as she stood, to Tony's befuddled, "Phil?"

"Mr. Coulson! I missed you!" Primrose greeted him with a happy tone, following after Pepper and leaving her dad looking at her with widened eyes.

"I can't stay," Coulson told Pepper before giving a loop-smile at the little girl, "Hi there, I have something for you," he quickly takes something out of his pockets and Primrose grabs it when he hands it to her, "These were the ones I already had repeated, you can have them," he told her softly as he watched her eyes lit at the Captain America trading cards.

"Wow! Thanks!" Primrose gasped as her dad glared at him, "But why?"

"I thought you'd like it, kids like trading cards, right?" Phil asked her hopefully.

Primrose only nodded, smiling at him, "I love this."

"Yeah, yeah–I'm going to stop this," Tony interjected, "First of all, his first name is Agent," he objected as he leaped to follow their approach of the SHIELD agent, "Second of all, my daughter has better tastes than trading cards."

"Dad, don't be jealous. Besides, I like them," she stated firmly, making Phil smirk at her dad.

Pepper bit her lip from amusement when she saw the grumpy look on Tony's face, "Come on in, we're celebrating," she told Coulson with a welcoming tone.

"Which is why he can't stay," Tony muttered as he offered a wide, forced smile.

"Daddy..." Primrose scolded him.

"We need you to look this over as soon as possible," Coulson explained, posing a thin SHIELD issued computer towards her dad.

"Uh oh," Primrose shook her head, "Not good."

"I-I don't like being handed things," her dad replied, shaking his head and casting his gaze from the offered object to Phil and back again.

"That's fine because I love to be handed things," Pepper interrupted them, reaching forward and calling attention onto her, "So, let's trade," she suggested as she swapped the computer Phil was holding with her glass before turning to lift Tony's from him to replace it with the computer with a small 'thank you' as she sipped his champagne.

Primrose held her Capri Sun protectively as her dad sent a look that detailed how counterproductive her actions made his as he received the object easily.

He begrudgingly addressed Coulson, "Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday–"

"This isn't a consultation," the agent stated, consciously holding the champagne flute he had been given.

"Is this about the Avengers?" Pepper asked, and at the agent's stare she added futilely, "Which I-I know nothing about."

"Oh! The group of heroes daddy told me about?" Primrose wondered, looking at her dad, "But you said that it wasn't going to happen."

"I did because the Avengers' Initiative was scrapped, I thought–" her dad mused as he started walking towards his desk, setting the touchscreen in the base as he finished over his shoulder, bitterly, "–and I didn't even qualify."

Primrose didn't understand why her dad wasn't chosen, he never told her the reason, but he did make her promise to never tell anyone about the Avengers Initiative. Turns out her mom already knew about it. But Primrose still didn't know why her dad wasn't chosen, he was Iron Man and he fought against two bad guys – and won!

"I didn't know that either," Pepper remarked.

"I knew!" Primrose pipped in, not reading the room as usual.

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others"

"That I did know."

"Oh! So that's why? Daddy, you need to learn how to behave then," Primrose scolded him, "There is no 'I' on the word team."

Tony deadpanned a mildly annoyed look at his own daughter.  _'God, she's just like Emma sometimes.'_

"You should listen to your daughter," Coulson stated with a smirk, "Besides, this isn't about personality profiles anymore."

"Whatever," Tony dismissed, "Ms. Potts, got a sec?" he called with a beckoning finger through the information displayed on the computer that he had rested on the desk.

"Half a mo'," Pepper said as she excused herself before sauntering briskly over to Tony's side.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment," he expressed, entering a code on the touchscreen and digitally weaving through all of the security features that prevented him from transferring the information onto his server.

"I was having twelve percent of a moment, besides Prim is here," he retorted with a smirk before glancing back at the agent, having a chat with Primrose, before stating earnestly, "This seems serious – Phil's pretty shaken. Your daughter is doing a good job distracting him."

"How would you know th–Why is he Phil?" Tony asked, casting a suspicious look over her shoulder.

"What is all this?" she questioned, drawing his attention back to the computer.

"This is, uh–" he began before finally bypassing the protective, copyright assets of the system and placing the tips of his fingers on three pictures and dragging them off-screen, the profiles and all of the information attached projected by JARVIS in a hovering semi-circle around them, "–this."

On their left was a captured image on Dr. Bruce Banner, a roaring video recorded by a cellphone of the Hulk fighting against the military forces set against him on the Culver University campus. In the center was a military identification picture of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, a clip of a propaganda video showing him fighting HYDRA agents, and besides that footage of SHIELD discovering him in the ice. And on the far right was a photo of a blonde man swinging a hammer, images of SHIELD's reading about said hammer and Jane Foster's descriptions of the construction of the Nine Realms scattered around a video of the so-called 'God of Thunder's' battle with a giant machine.

Tony stared at the Hulk's fight before casting his gaze to the other two videos, Pepper gaped at the monochrome evidence from the forties before absorbing the destructing caused by the machine's, now titled the 'Destroyer', destruction in New Mexico.

"Is that the Hulk?" Primrose suddenly asked, appearing next to her dad, who got startled and yelped loudly as he zoned out of all the imagery.

"Prim! You should've stayed near Mr. Phil," he snapped softly at her, the only response was her giving him puppy eyes.

"But I wanted to see, there are so many heroes here! Who's that?" she asked, pointing at the blond long-haired man.

"Thor," Coulson replied, hearing her well, "He's a God."

"Holy crap!" she exclaimed, giving the agent wide eyes.

Pepper seemed pale, she breathed out slowly, announcing, "I'm going to take the jet to D.C tonight."

"Tomorrow," Tony quickly corrected with a nudge.

"You have homework. You have a lot of homework," she stated.

"Well," Tony glanced down at his daughter, who was distracted while watching the videos, especially the Hulk ones, "what if I didn't?"

Pepper smirked at him, "If you didn't?"

"Yeah,"

"You mean when you've finished?" Tony nodded, "Well, um, then" she began, her words trailing off into the husky tones as she whispered suggestions into his ear that left the genius slack-jawed.

Primrose was still oblivious to the flirting as Coulson cast his eyes to the floor, turning his head away from the scene so not to intrude, an amused expression crossing his face.

Tony pulled back with a smile, "Square deal. Fly safe."

Pepper smirked and they leaned in to share a lingering kiss before she stepped back, "Work hard."

To that, Primrose finally returned her attention at them, "You're leaving already, Pepper?" she walked towards her godmother with a sad expression.

She side-stepped Tony and opened her arms to receive the hug the ten-year-old was always ready to give, "Yeah sweetie, I'll see you in a couple of days though," she kissed her head and Tony watched the two with a fond expression.

"Fly safe, I'll miss you!" Primrose smiled as they pulled back from their hug.

The two Starks watched her walk away as she asked Coulson, "So, any chance you're driving by LaGuardia?"

"I can drop you," he answered, prompting Pepper to say 'fantastic'.

Primrose watched her dad turn back to the files he had been given, an image of a man with dark hair and a wicked grin, named 'LOKI' on the screen, astride the debilitating damage SHIELD's base of operations suffered. Below there was a representation of the stand a man named Selvig had constructed to harness the Tesseract's energy, with the diagnostics he had been able to gather from the cube itself.

Pepper's voice was heard faintly asking, "Oh, I wanna hear about the cellist – is that a thing?"

"She moved back to Portland," Coulson had answered.

"What?! Boo," she responded as they stepped into the elevator.

"Daddy?" Primrose began as she approached him, he had reached into the hologram and plucked the image of the blue cube named Tesseract out of the frame and he was staring at it, his focus drifting into the distance, "Is this bad?"

Tony licked his lips, now knowing what to say.

"Is it worst than Obadiah and Vanko?" she asked.

He sighed, "I don't know honey, it might be," he replied, deciding to be honest, "All I know is this is a bad time for your mom to be out of town."

* * *

**_Location: Secret United States Naval Base_ **

**_May 3rd_ **

Primrose was sure excited to be traveling, but sadly it wasn't for a happy reason. Also, she is now supposed to be a secret until her dad says so. He explained that he was dropping her by a place called Helicarrier, an aerial vehicle that her dad designed for SHIELD, and that she needed to stay in a room until he came back from a quick mission in Germany. What she didn't understand was what happened almost an hour ago. She felt her room shake as the Helicarrier seemed to start moving upwards slowly and having traveled a lot by planes Primrose knew what air turbulence was, so this shocked her tremendously because she thought she was on a ship. She tried her best to stay inside the room, she lasted an hour inside. And the ten-year-old was pretty sure they were flying at this point.

That being said, Primrose left the generic bedroom and explored the area as much as she could until getting caught.

She first walked amidst the corridors with no worry, trying to find a window, she seemed to be in an area where no one seemed to be around, but what Primrose didn't realize is that the corridors had cameras planted all over, following her movements.

She ran until she reached a corner of the hall and that's when she saw two SHIELD agents guarding a double door behind them. They took notice of her peeking at them, and one of them actually smirked before the other talked to his ear-communicator.

"You were right sir, she's here."

_"Let her in."_

One of the agents beckoned Primrose with his hand, "This way little Miss, Director Fury is waiting for you."

Shyly, Primrose obeyed, slightly anxious that she's been caught and that now she was in trouble. She didn't want her dad to ground her because of this, she was just bored in that room and she forgot to bring her sketchbook since they left Stark Tower in a hurry.

When she reached them, the two male agents opened the double door for her and escorted her into the expanse of the bridge. The raised flooring edged by steel rails opened to a hexagonal conference table and then led to Director Fury's position at four control panels, his attention on the view through the massive windows that made up the prow of the ship as well as the movement of his crew.

Agents were positioned at rows of monitors on the floor below where Fury stood, each with a microphone and headset in use for communication with all of the others that were coordinating the ship's control.

"I knew it," Primrose began as she approached Fury with a jaw-slacked expression, "You're a pirate. Not a water one, not from space, but an air pirate!" she couldn't help but stare at the clouds they were passing by.

Fury smirked as he turned to face her, "I'm cooler than a pirate."

"No one is cooler than a pirate," she scoffed.

There were a few agents that glanced at the little girl, some were from confusion other from amusement. Maria Hill seemed to be intrigued.

"Sir, why is Stark's daughter here?" she asked him.

"Because she has her father's curiosity," Fury replied before addressing the child in the room, "I knew you couldn't help it."

Primrose managed to look ashamed, "Dad's gonna be mad at me, isn't he?"

"Sir, Agent Romanoff is on the line. They've managed to capture Loki and the Tesseract and they're on the way back," Maria stated quickly.

Fury beckoned Primrose closer with a nod while the little girl smiled with relief that her dad was okay and with Natasha no less!

"Is he saying anything?" Fury suddenly asked after he placed a communicator on his ear.

 _"Not a word,"_  Primrose heard Natasha drawl.

"Who's he?" she quickly asked Fury, who shushed her. She pouted at him.

 _"Is that who I think it is?"_  Natasha asked with an uneasy tone.

"Just get him here, we're low on time," Fury ordered, without answering her question.

* * *

Two hours later, they finally returned.

Fury quickly told Primrose what happened, that was amusing for everyone. Watching the Director of SHIELD trying to calm down a ten-year-old after she's been told her dad has been hijacked by a thunder god had almost made Primrose cry – but when he quickly told her that Thor was now on their side and they would arrive soon it instantly calmed her down.

He sent an agent to escort her to where their Quinjet had landed a few minutes ago. Primrose quickly ran towards her dad as soon as she saw him, alone and removing his suit with the help of the mechanical arms he brought along

"Prim, you're supposed to be in you–oh, no, why are you crying?" he stuttered when he managed to caught her mid-air, she hugged him tightly and he hugged just as much, "C'mon honey, I'm okay you can see me. I assume you know what happened, but it's all fine now. It was just a misunderstanding, I taught you that."

She nodded, cleaning her tears quickly, "Sorry daddy, but last time I saw you coming out of a plane you... a-and I thought"

"None of that now, ssh..." Tony brought her close again, "You wanna go meet my new friends? You can tell Agent Romanoff about your karate lessons. And you can meet Captain America, have him sign your old smelly trading cards," at this point, Tony would say anything to make her think about anything else.

Primrose seemed to recover, "Wait. Captain America is here?" she sniffed and cleaned her tears even more with her sleeves, "Why is he here? And daddy, who is the man you capture, who's Loki?"

Tony huffed, "Young lady, right now we need to find Agent Coulson, or how you like to call him, 'Mr. Coulson'," he stated the name with a girly voice, making Primrose giggle as she grabbed his hand when he started walking away from the Quinjet port.

When they found him, Phil Coulson was actually waiting for them to start escorting the two Starks towards the control bridge, where everyone was waiting on them. Her dad starting talking about the mission, and what happened with Thor.

Then their conversation shifted dramatically, "So, who was Pepper talking about?"

"Hm?" Phil inquired.

"The cellist?"

"Oh! Is she a woman you like, Mr. Coulson?" Primrose inputted brightly.

"Is she?" Tony pressed, making Phil smile amusedly, "Because I can help you with that," he said as they reached a familiar pair of doors.

When they walked inside, Primrose shyly looked at the floor as she heard a man muse out loud.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium – what do they need the iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent," her dad answered right away as he and she were led into the area by Coulson, "I'm just saying, take a weekend – I'll fly you to Portland," he told the agent, finishing their conversation.

Phil nodded with a genuine smile, but pointed towards the group assembled and ushered the billionaire and his daughter in.

"Keep love alive," Tony advised quickly as they separated, finally turning his attention to the current conversation being held on the conference table.

Primrose remained behind her dad, ignoring all the looks she was getting as her cheeks reddened. Her father sauntered around the table, "Means, the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD," he clarified before pausing as he circled around Thor, saying, "No hard feelings, Point Break – you've got a mean swing," as he patted the defined muscles of Thor's upper arm while passing by quickly.

Primrose looked up at the God, and when Thor noticed the little girl the scowl he was giving at her father softened, he was not expecting a child to be around. He liked children.

"Also," her dad continued. Primrose stopped staring at Thor and proceeded to find the floor more interesting, "means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long as Loki wants."

Maria rolled her eyes and turned away at his elucidation. They all watched as Tony continued to pause at the end of the raised platform with control panels at each side, "Uh, raise the mizzenmast," he commanded suddenly on the bridge, "Jib the topsails."

Primrose giggled, "Raise the pirate flag!" she piped in, making him smile.

The agents seated at the monitors below halted their work and turned to direct cautioning looks towards the two and at their orders. Primrose was a little embarrassed but with her dad by her side, she found herself having fun.

"That man is playing Galaga!" her dad abruptly accused, spinning and pointing at one of the agents. Steve and several other behind them followed the motion, "He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

Primrose took a mental note to ask what Galaga was later.

Tony returned his attention to the Director's monitors, a puzzled frown showed on his expression as he fleetingly raised a hand to cover his eyes in mimicry of Fury's eye patch, "How does Fury see even see these?" he asked as he gestured to the panels on the left.

"He turns," Maria answered flatly, arms crossed.

"Sounds exhausting," he responded.

"Dad!" Primrose scolded him, and that led to everyone have any type of reaction.

Bruce Banner had been on the run, he hasn't paid any attention to the media so finding out that the little girl was actually, as he suspected, Tony Stark's daughter had been a surprise.

Steve Rogers was more shocked than everyone else in the room. He met Stark on the Quinjet for only an hour and he already found him slightly irritating – he might be Howard's son but the two were very different. But to find out that Tony Stark is actually a father was confusing, the kid seemed to be okay, but why was Steve expecting a spoiled girl?

Thor smiled, just a big, wide smile. He loved children and even though Stark had been annoying at first he decided to like this little girl, "Congratulations Stark, your daughter takes her appearance after you, but she's actually cuter," the God commented quickly, not knowing Tony infamous past of partying to be shocked enough to find out he had a daughter.

Natasha smirked, she was glad that after three years, Primrose was still putting her father back into place, "You have grown so much Prim, it's nice to see you again."

Primrose didn't know how to react to Thor's compliment. She felt her father radiate with pride as he challenged someone sitting by the table to comment about it.

"Thank you, Mr. Thor, and it's nice seeing you too Ms. Romanoff!" she brightly told them.

Her dad patted her hair, "Anyways, enough with this meet-and-greet, we'll have time for it after we end this," he stated firmly, "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he needs is a power source, of high-energy density," he stepped around Primrose, studying the panels, and from her height, she saw him stick something underneath one of the monitors.

Primrose frowned but stayed silent.

Tony turned back to everyone's inquiring expressions, continuing, "Something to" he drawled, drawing their attention, before snapping his fingers and clapping as he finished, "kick-start the Cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria interrogated quickly.

"Last night," he and Primrose replied.

Everyone looked at her with surprised, but Primrose knew that her dad was up all night studying it. She caught him when she woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water.

Maria tilted her head and narrowed her eyes in disbelief while Steve wondered if the little girl was a genius as well.

"The packet – Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers," her dad continued, evidently realizing the answers, he questioned them in wonder with arms spread wide as if to hope for a contradiction to his thoughts, "Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve interrupted.

Primrose eyed him curiously, she had to remember that he supposedly died in ninety-forty-five so she wondered how he was taking this technologic future.

Bruce, however, bared his teeth in contemplation as he shook his head, pacing back towards Steve as he outlined, "He would have to heat the Cube to one-hundred-and-twenty Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

"Unless," her dad drawled, walking towards the scientist as he proposed, "Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."

"Well, if he could do that he could achieve heavy-ion fusion at any reactor on the planet," Bruce stated.

"Finally – someone who speaks English," Tony commended with a survey of the others as he drew closer to Bruce. Primrose simply tried not to look too embarrassed as she quickly took one of the seats closer to her, which happened to be near Natasha. The two shared a smile.

"Was that what just happened?" Steve remarked in question.

"Yup," Primrose replied, pressing on the 'p' word with a tired expression.

Steve gave her a half-smile.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner," Tony said as they shook hands, Bruce nodding in agreement, "Your work, on anti-electron collisions, is unparalleled," he released him before adding, "And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Primrose looked at her dad with widened eyes and facepalmed.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube," Director Fury argued as he walked inside the room, "I was hoping you might join him," he suggested.

"Let's start with that stick of his," Steve advocated, "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

Primrose took a mental note to ask what HYDRA was later.

"I don't know about that," Fury countered, "But it is powered by the Cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys?" Thor repeated, "I do not understand–"

"I do!" Steve piped in enthusiastically. Primrose grinned at him while her dad rolled his eyes in blatant derision, "I-I understood that reference," the blonde explained proudly.

"I did too, mom and I watched it once!" Primrose told him brightly, making Steve nod with a smile. He was pleasantly surprised that this little girl liked a movie much older than her – but the comment about her mom made him stare. Does Tony have a wife?!

Tony turned to Bruce, "Shall we play, Doctor?"

The scientist nodded before waving him down the adjoining hall, "This way, sir."

"Prim, honey?" Tony extended his arm at her, beckoning his daughter to hold his hand, which she instantly did.

"Bye everyone, see you later," she waved at Steve, Thor, and Natasha. Primrose decided she liked the new guys. Steve looked lost most of the time but he didn't say anything that made him look mean. And Thor, although intimidating, would always give her a big, friendly smile every time she looked at him.

Steve awkwardly waved his hand as a goodbye with a small smile, Thor grinned widely and nodded at her and Natasha winked with a genuine smile of her own – the kid reminded her of Cooper sometimes. She needed to save Clint, for the sake of him and his secret family.


	25. There Was an Idea - Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Funny fact: For some reason, I wouldn't stop typing 'Brunce' instead of 'Bruce' so if you see a 'Brunce' on this chapter I'm so sorry haha!
> 
> Holy crap, longest chapter ever!
> 
> Transcript by 'archangelraphaelsdaughter' and movie belongs to Marvel!

Emma Reneé Evans, aged thirty-two, was fuming.

She had just finished talking with Tony over the phone, her daughter's father that stupidly took their ten-year-old on a dangerous mission that involves Norse Gods and a cube filled with energy that could destroy a country was very sorry that Primrose was in that damn Helicarrier with him – and Emma did hear the regret on his voice – but that he had no choice and he assured her that the mission was going well.

Emma didn't care. Her daughter was somewhere in the sky, above the ocean, on a top-secret mission surrounded by dangerous people, including Bruce Banner himself. Emma didn't hate Dr. Bruce Banner, she knew he wasn't a bad person, but she also knew what type of monster he had inside, ready to come out at the slightest provocation.

And that made Emma extremely anxious.

Tony had passed the phone over to Primrose, and the little girl had happily told her about how excited she was to be on an air-ship and that Fury looked like a pirate for real. Her daughter's innocence could mean that nothing terrible had happened, yet. Emma told Primrose that she was on her way back to New York City and that she was going to return as well. Before the little girl could retort, her dad interrupted her and agreed at once.

When the phone call was over, Emma called Rhodey. They have been texting and talking with each other more often, it all started after Tony's disastrous birthday party three years ago and their friendship had solidified beyond how they used to be around each other.

The two talked, Emma asked if he could help her with Primrose, but Rhodey regretfully informed her that he was on his way to Hong Kong to fight against Ten Rings allies. That worried her, he was going on his own? Rhodey told her that War Machine had this, making her laugh. The two have been growing closer to the point of flirting.

* * *

**_May 4th  
Early Morning_ **

Primrose yawned while her head rested against one of the desks inside the laboratory her dad and Dr. Banner were at. Tony had told her to go to sleep but she refused to, she already slept last night after meeting the rest of the team but her dad told her she didn't sleep, she only napped for four hours. But still, she refused to go to bed because she wanted to be part of the mission as well, although she didn't tell her dad that, she wanted to feel important.

He gave up telling her to go to bed since she had his stubbornness.

She watched as Dr. Bruce held a scanner in hand, drawing over the length of the scepter, its image relayed to the screen and he attempted to maintain the view of as he operated the device. He adjusted the drape of the cord that connected it to the computer resting on the surface of the bench he was working on so that it did not hand off the blade of the weapon.

"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports of the Tesseract," the Doctor stated as the clear display depicted the scan beneath an expanded view of the gem set at its head, as well as the Cube, "But it's going to take weeks to process."

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster," her dad began from across the corner that held three computers analyzing the data provided, as well with touchscreens that he was working with. Primrose keenly noticed that the large base that was connected with three thick cords to SHIELD's mainframe had a background sporting the 'Stark Industries' logo as her dad entered the desired specifications and ran the computer, "we can clock this around six-hundred teraflops," he informed.

Bruce chuckled at the technology he had brought with him, "All I packed was a toothbrush," he remarked.

Primrose chuckled at him, "I didn't even bring one, Dr. Banner, so you're doing better than me," that comment earned a smile from Bruce.

"I told you to bring essentials," Tony quickly lied, making Primrose give him a look as he crossed the area, "You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime," he offered to the doctor, unconcernedly lifting a slim prod from one of the tables he passed by, he fiddled with it as he coaxed, "Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it – it's candy land."

"Yeah, Dr. Banner! My dad has a lot of workshops and labs you'd love!" Primrose said, lifting her head from the desk as she offered a friendly smile. Tony nodded, agreeing with his daughter.

Bruce looked between the two Starks, "Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke Harlem," he declined with a glance down as Tony circled around to his side before the two focused on the display of readings.

"Well, I promise a stress-free environment," her dad continued, moving behind Dr. Banner to his other side, "No tension, no surprises," he said as he suddenly jabbed him on the side, startling Primrose when the zap of the electric discharge briefly sounded as Bruce yelped an 'ow!'.

"Daddy!" Primrose scolded urgently as Tony narrowed his eyes, leaning closer as Bruce met his gaze while holding his side.

At the same time, Steve walked inside and glared at him, "Hey!" as her dad wondered a small 'nothing?' at the lack of any shade of green in the other's irises, "Are you nuts?!"

"Jury's out," Tony quipped towards the Captain to Bruce's laughter as the other turned back to the computer.

Primrose watched them with a tense expression, now that Steve was here she became quiet. She didn't know how to act around him yet.

Tony turned back to Bruce, ignoring Steve, "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums," he leaned closer to that his daughter couldn't hear him, "...huge bag of weed?" he questioned in admiration.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve asked angrily.

"Funny things are," her dad replied with a gesture of the prod.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny, especially when you have your daughter in the same room," he cast a glance towards Bruce, "No offense, Doc," he added.

"A-Ah, it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle," he looked at the eccentric billionaire at his side, "...pointy things."

Tony smirked and breathed out a chuckle as he stepped away, stating, "And if I knew that Dr. Banner here could change into a beautiful green monster full of rage at the slightest of pinch I wouldn't have done it," he gave Steve an odd look, Primrose didn't know if it was of teasing or hatred, "You're tip-toeing, big man – you need to strut."

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark," Steve inserted.

"You think I'm not?" Tony questioned. He turned to pose to him, grabbing a bag of blueberries from a desk, "Why did Fury call us in? Why now – why not before? What isn't he telling us?" At the three gazes fixed on him, he finished logically, "I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

Primrose tried to think of an answer to that, but Steve replied first.

"You think Fury's hiding something?" the blonde's brow furrowed as he voiced his thought.

"He's a spy. Captain, he's  _the_  spy. His secrets have secrets," Tony declared as he tossed a couple of berries into his mouth, "It's bugging him too, isn't it?" he asked, turning to face the doctor who had resumed working.

"Aah," Bruce dithered, glancing between them with wide eyes before looking down again, reminding Primrose of a startled puppy, "I just want to finish my work here, and–"

"Doctor?" Steve prompted, interrupting him.

Bruce cast his eyes to Tony before sighing, sending a glance towards Steve before removing his glasses, "A-A warm night for all mankind – Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube–"

"I heard it," the Captain nodded.

"I didn't," Primrose inputted, receiving a look from her dad to keep silent.

Bruce looked at her before stating, "Well, I think that was meant for you," he said with a point at Tony as he turned his head to face him. Her dad turned his head away and offered him the blueberries as if they were a treat for answering a question correctly, Bruce reached into the bag and grabbed a few, "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the Tower, it was still all over the news."

"Dad..." Primrose whispered, when he looked at her she glanced down at the berries bag, signalizing she also wanted some, he quickly walked to her and let her take as much as she wanted.

"The Stark Tower? That big ugly–" both Tony and Primrose sent him a challenging look, and Steve paused his insult, relaying in the presence of the tower's designer and his daughter, "–building in New York?" he finished.

"It's not ugly!" Primrose defended, making Steve cough uncomfortably.

"It's powered by an arc rector – it's self-sustaining energy source," Bruce explained as Primrose kept looking at Steve, upset at his insult as she chewed on the berries, "That building will run itself for what, a year?" he unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt, clarifying as he rolled them up.

"It's a prototype," Primrose declared proudly, making her dad ruffle her hair.

"I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now – that's what they're getting at," Tony excused smugly, elaborating it to the soldier.

"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Bruce wondered.

Primrose did find that strange, her dad was really good at working with energies. And he has been in contact with SHIELD for four years now – why didn't they call him? This was getting strange, she no longer felt like she was on a pirate ship but on a conspiracy theory.

"I should probably look into that," Tony began as he circled around Bruce again, checking his phone, "once my decryption program finished breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

Primrose gasped, "I knew it! I saw you put something under that desk!" and all she got was a wink from him.

Meanwhile, Steve gaped at him, dazed even, "I'm sorry, did you say–" he objected.

"JARVIS had been running it since I hit the bridge," Tony said, returning his cellphone to his back pocket, "In a few hours I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide. Blueberry?" he offered the blonde.

Steve ignored the offer, "Yet, you're confused about why they didn't want you around," he derided.

Primrose wanted to tell him that he was wrong, but she remained silent as the adults talked.

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence?" Tony drawled as he withdrew his blueberries back to himself, "Historically, not awesome."

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up," Steve announced at the two, he glanced at Primrose as well to make sure she was paying attention, "This is a man who means to start a war, and, if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed," he met both of their gazes, asserting, "We have orders – we should follow them."

"Following's not really my style," her dad retorted as he tossed several berries into his mouth again.

Steve adopted a longsuffering expression as he remarked, "And you're all about style, aren't you?"

Primrose didn't agree with that, her dad has saved a lot of people and almost died trying.

"Of the people in this room, which one is a, wearing a spangly outfit, and b, not of use?" her dad quipped at him, and Primrose didn't want to snicker the way she did but she couldn't help it.

However, she didn't like the disapproving look Steve gave her afterward. She didn't even know him that well but she felt like she was being reprimanded by a teacher.

"Steve," Bruce beckoned before he could reply, "tell me none of this smells a little funky to you."

He turned his gaze back to Tony and swept his eyes down the length of him before returning them to his face with a dissatisfied expression, "Just find the Cube," he ordered as he turned to march out of the lab.

Tony maintained an impassive stare at the familiar disappointed look, exhaling once the Captain exited.

"Are you okay, daddy?" Primrose asked at once, her tone full of worry.

He looked at her and smiled tightly, nodding, "Me? I'm fine, honey. I'm just surprised, that's the guy your grandpa would never shut up about?" her dad scoffed, before turning to his screens and manipulating the data astride the scepter as Bruce adjusted his glasses while he read the information on the small screen he was carrying – he crossed the room to another large suspended interface as her dad continued, "Wondering if they should've kept him on ice."

His daughter frowned at that notion, "Dad, that's mean..." she didn't like the way Steve talked with her dad, but wishing him to practically stay dead wasn't right either.

"You're right Prim, sorry I said that," Tony quickly told her, but without actually meaning it.

"The guy's not wrong about Loki," Bruce inputted as he modified the view of the strands of the radiation signatures, "He does have the jump on us."

"What he's got is an Acme dynamite kit – it's gonna blow up in his face," Tony predicted as he passed where Bruce was working and analyzed the touchscreen he had set up before, "And I'm gonna be there when it does."

For someone who was talking about a cartoon's dynamite, her dad's statement sure didn't sound fun at all.

"I'll read all about it," Bruce stated, sliding a compressed file to the edge of his screen, the data transferred to the one Tony was working at.

She watched them work, and Primrose couldn't help to see how in sync her dad and Dr. Banner were. She was impressed. Her dad never had a workshop helper, except for JARVIS and DUM-E, but they weren't human – her dad didn't play well with others. So seeing him actually get along with a stranger was a refreshing moment to see.

"Uh huh – or you'll be suiting up with the rest of us," Tony responded as he examined the information he received.

Bruce permitted an incredulous scoff before enlightening, "Ah, you see, I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed like a nerve," he glanced at Primrose and smiled sadly, "It's a nightmare. And for someone that brought their kid to work I'd think that a situation where everyone would have to suit up would be your highest concern" he paused for a moment before turning directly to the ten-year-old, "Hi there, we didn't talk much. Can I ask you a question?"

Primrose looked at her dad, who nodded affirmatively and nodded with a shy smile.

"How do you feel about being in the same room with a monster?" he asked her with a tired tone.

Tony looked between the doctor and his daughter with a worried look.

Primrose, however, remained calm, "I'm not in a room with a monster, all I see is my dad and a man called Dr. Banner. Now, if you wanna see a monster, I do a great impression of Stitch when he crashed his ship on Earth. Wanna see it?" she quipped at him, making Bruce stare blankly at her before his lips lifted to a lopsided smile.

"Nah, thanks, kid. Maybe some other time," the doctor told her with a genuine tone, making Primrose grin.

"You know," Tony began, proud that his daughter was able to avoid answering the uncomfortable question, now that the tense mood was gone, "I've got a cluster of shrapnel trying every second to crawl its way into my heart," he shared, abandoning his monitor and advancing towards the other man as he tapped his arc reactor in indication as he explained, "This stops, this little circle of light and..." he paused as he looked at his daughter with a sad smile, she looked back at him with a downcast frown, "...I lose everything," halting, he faced Bruce now, through a clear screen. The doctor met his gaze though he worried his hand over another on, "It's a part of me now, not just armor. It's a terrible privilege."

Primrose suddenly wanted to leave and cry without her dad seeing it. Instead, she decided to keep calm and continue hearing their conversation, hoping they'd change the focus of it into science or the Tesseract. She didn't like the theme of this discussion.

"But you can control it," Bruce countered.

"Because I learned how, because I wanted to be alive for my daughter."

"It's different," the doctor objected as he shook his head, "As much I respect that, you can still control it. I can't, I tried," he finished, resuming his work.

"Hey!" Tony interjected, dragging his hand along the bottom of the touchscreen on Bruce's side to minimize all of the data, "I read all about your 'accident'. That much gamma exposure should've killed you."

If that was true, then Primrose thought that Dr. Banner wasn't as normal as he thought he was – even after being exposed to the radiation. Maybe there was more to this meek looking doctor than he was telling.

"So you're saying that the Hulk–" Bruce cut himself off and averted his gaze with a smirk at the name the media had adopted, "–the Other Guy, saved my life?" after seeing Tony silent, reinforcing his point, he continued with an ironic tone, "That's nice – it's a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?"

"All lives matter, Dr. Banner..." Primrose weakly stated, looking sadder as the two talked.

Bruce gave the girl a thoughtful look, how much he wanted to tell her she was wrong, she was being naive. But how could he? He couldn't be mean to children, hell, he was in this Hellicarrier because of a little girl that he thought needed his medical assistance. Children were innocent to his eyes, even the Other Guy could see that. So Bruce didn't say anything – opting to let Tony keep the conversation alive.

"As my daughter sweetly says puts it, all lives matter," the genius shrugged, "Except, of course, the bad guys' ones, right honey?" he didn't need to look at his daughter to see her exasperated expression, "Besides, I guess we'll find out why your Other Guy decided to keep you alive," Tony mused.

"You may not enjoy that," Bruce retorted.

"And you just might."

* * *

Loki smirked, no, he smiled.

Everything was going as he planned, as usual. The so-called 'Avengers' were all in the same place, the beast was amongst them, the Odinson thought he had everything under control as always and the child thought she was safe.

And he thought Odin was a bad father. Loki actually pitied the girl, her father had been careless enough to bring her into a suicide mission. How pathetic could Midgardians get?

Nevertheless, she was only a pawn, they all were. He's been watching her, she was nothing like Stark. She was no genius, but he saw how sharply keen her eyes were. Although the little girl did not possess an intelligence quotient enough to make her a genius – she was filled with emotional quotient, which made her an easy target for what was about to come.

Stark would regret bringing her with him, he would weep, he would be angry at him. Loki didn't care, Stark would have nothing – because Loki was going to take his everything.

Now, he had to focus.

They sent the Black Widow for the interrogation.

* * *

Primrose was now next to her dad and Dr. Banner as they surveyed the list of SHIELD's secure files, JARVIS had finally broken through the layers of firewalls but an 'ACCESS DENIED' alert flashed on the large screen.

"Oh. What do we do now?" Primrose asked curiously.

Her dad smiled, "We try again. JARVIS needs a challenge," her dad casually said.

"This is not good," Bruce mumbled, shaking his head, "If they find out..."

Tony shrugged as he sat back on a worktable, patting the table and smiling at Primrose to sit next to him, which she excitedly obeyed. She loved sitting on places other than chairs. Bruce just watched her, amused.

A few minutes later, Fury strode into the lab as the two geniuses talked with Primrose inputting her own comments, "What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" he asked accusingly, making Primrose drop her smile and stop her legs from swinging.

"Uh-oh, not good," she mumbled.

"Uh, kind of been wondering the same thing about you," her dad responded, one leg crossed in front of him whose ankle he rested his hands on, as the other hung off the edge of the surface. He was as nonchalant as he could be.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract," Fury said, having come to stand before the billionaire. Even Primrose felt intimidated.

"We are," Bruce quickly retorted as Tony idly tapped his phone against his knee with a smirk, "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit–" he pointed to one of the monitors behind the Director, who turned to observe with hands on his hips, "we'll have the location within half a mile," the screen rotated a model of the globe on one side as the analysis of the Tesseract and its gamma signatures were shown on the other. And alert in the center notified them that the search process was at forty-six percent.

"Yeah, then you get your cube back. No muss, no fuss," Tony reassured before his attention was called to the monitor in front of him when it beeped. A file had been highlighted in red, prompting him to ask, "What is 'Phase Two'?"

Suddenly, a loud clank of various guns being tossed onto a table by Steve as he entered the lab made Primrose jump, "'Phase Two' is SHIELD uses the Cube to make weapons," he proclaimed to Bruce's slight gaping towards Fury and Primrose's eyes widening with shock, she suddenly felt very scared, "Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me," he remarked in apology towards Tony.

"Definitely, not good," the ten-year-old stated, looking at Fury and not seeing him as an air-pirate anymore.

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract," Fury quickly justified, his hand raised in placation as he approached the soldier, "This does not mean that we–"

"I'm sorry Nick," Tony interrupted, standing as he swiveled the screen around to display the schematics he had accessed for the development of said weaponry, "What were you lying about?"

"I was wrong, Director – the world hasn't changed a bit," Steve commented disapprovingly.

This was getting out of hand, Primrose remained sitting on the desktop and brought her knees to her chest, hugging them for safety as she tried to control her breathing, now it was not the time for her to have a panic-induced asthma attack.

Suddenly, Thor and Natasha showed up and at their wary entrance, Bruce instantly turned to the agent, "Did you know about this?" he asked her.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" she suggested firmly, glancing at Primrose quickly to make her point.

"Ah ah, I was in Kolkata, I was pretty well removed," Bruce retorted.

"Loki is manipulation you," she insisted as she stepped closer.

"And you've been doing what, exactly?" he sneered.

Primrose watched the two with a sad expression because if this Loki guy was manipulating Dr. Banner then how would Natasha know if he wasn't manipulating her as well?

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you," Natasha stated smartly.

"Listen, I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy," Bruce responded. He walked over to the monitor and pulled it closer by its corner, indicating with his glasses the plans for use of the Cube as he queried, "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"Because of him," Fury answered as he pointed at the God of Thunder.

Thor furrowed his brows in confusion as he indicated to himself for clarification, "Me?"

She looked at her dad and he looked genuinely confused as he shifted. She hopped out of the tabletop and decided to stay next to him, he instantly wrapped an arm around her neck and placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it as a comforting manner.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town," Fury elaborated as Bruce released the screen and cast his eyes to Thor in amazement, "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

Primrose gaped at Thor, and the Norse God took notice of her terrified look, "My people want nothing but peace with your planet!" he proclaimed at everyone – but directing another friendly smile towards the child.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Nick argued, "And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, who can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve inserted.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies," Thor asserted, "It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war!"

"War?" Primrose mouthed with a fearful expression.

"A higher form?" Steve prompted.

"You forced our hand," Fury defended, "We had to come up with something–"

"A nuclear deterrent," Tony surmised as his free hand was in his pocket, while the other wrapped around Primrose pulled her closer, "'Cause that always calms everything down," he added deridingly.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury snapped.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons Stark would be neck-deep in it," Steve commented, walking behind Fury.

"Wait–hold on, how is this about me?" Tony stated as he unwrapped his arm around his daughter, approaching the Captain. Primrose whined but stayed back.

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve retorted.

"Stop it..." the little girl whispered, looking between the two wary that their argument could escalate.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this," Thor remarked chidingly.

"Excuse me, do we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury objected as he whirled to face the God.

"You treat your champions with such mistrust–"

"They're not my champions!"

"Are you boys really that naive? SHIELD monitors potential threats," Natasha suddenly enlightened.

"What is it about me that bothers you so much? I'm curious," Tony egged the Captain in the background. Primrose couldn't help but the walk to his side, she just wanted him to not do anything silly, like for example, fight Captain America!

"And Captain America's on threat watch?" Bruce asked skeptically.

"He's not your concern, Doctor," Fury interjected as Thor began, "You should have let me take the Tesseract–"

"We all are," Natasha replied to Bruce.

Primrose suddenly felt sick, she backed away from all the argument and her eyes noticed the scepter glowing azure as the voices continued on angrily against each other. Her brown eyes widened, was that causing all this?

"Stop!" she quickly told them, but her smaller voice was unheard.

"Wait, you're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?" her dad taunted.

"Stark, so help me God, if you make one more wisecrack" Steve snapped.

"Threat – verbal threat! I feel threatened!" Tony mockingly called.

"Show some respect," Steve stated.

"Respect what?"

Thor muttered towards the Director, "If I need to put you down, I will, but I will not do it in front of the little girl."

Primrose panicked as she watched the long weapon held on the surface of one of the worktables. The scepter's length ran to seemingly capture the arguing individuals, ethereal blue glow instigating the animosity thick in the air. She was the only one that wasn't angry at anyone in the room, she didn't even care about who was right or wrong at this point, all Primrose wanted was for them to listen to her and calm down!

"Dad–" she tried.

"Not now Prim," her dad quickly dismissed, eyes on Steve.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos," Thor directed towards Fury.

"That's his M.O., isn't it?" Bruce remarked, "I mean, what are we – a team? No, no no – we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're-We're a time bomb," he stated darkly.

"You need to step away," Fury ordered.

Primrose didn't know where to look, she mainly focused on her dad though.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony asked with an open hand, laying it on Steve's shoulder.

"Your daughter is right here and you want Dr. Banner to 'let off steam'? – Back off," Steve yelled, backhanding the limb away.

"Stop!" Primrose squeaked out as soon as physical violence commenced.

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me," her dad challenged. His blind rage for the golden boy his dad preferred over him was sidetracking him from reason. Not even his daughter could stop years of issues that Howard Stark caused during his childhood.

"Yeah," Steve smirked in taunt of the concept, circling the other, "Big man in a suit or armor," he halted on his other side, "Take that off, what are you?" he asked sharply at Tony, who was staring forward with a tensed jaw.

"Genius, billionaire, father, philanthropist," Tony answered promptly and proudly.

Primrose gaped at him while Natasha jerked her head with an eyebrow raise in a concession of the points raised.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you," Steve said as Tony's eyes pinched at the corner's of the soldier's declarations, "And I've seen the footage – the only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play – to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you–"

Primrose was now glaring at Steve, how dare he say those things about her dad!

"I think I would just cut the wire," Tony said tersely.

"Always a way out," Steve remarked with a mocking grin, casting his eyes to meet Primrose's for a second, he was surprised to see her glaring at him hatefully – he could see Tony's eyes in her, "You know, you may not be a threat," he looked back at her dad, "But you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero? Like you?" Tony questioned incredulously as he stepped closer, "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers – everything special about you came out of a bottle."

"Put on the suit," Steve dared Tony, whose teeth were grit and eyes were wide, "let's go for a few rounds."

"NO!" Primrose yelled as she pushed Steve away from her dad, her strength didn't allow her to move him a lot but Steve did back away from shock, "I won't let you! You're wrong! My daddy is not selfish! He fights for everyone, for me! You're a liar! You're s-stupid!" she kept yelling, angry tears falling from her eyes. She didn't even know what to say, her little body was filled with rage all at once that all Primrose could do was throw random words at the soldier, trying to hurt him.

Tony instantly grabbed her and pulled her for a hug as Steve watched them with a shocked expression.

"Sssh, it's okay. Calm down, his words mean nothing to me, honey, okay?" her dad whispered gently, patting her head, "Sticks and stone, you know?"

Everyone watched them, they actually seemed to calm down more now that they finally realized that Primrose had just watched everything, Bruce and Fury actually looked uncomfortable while Natasha pitied her. What was Tony's deal? Bringing Primrose here, he should know better.

Thor sighed, saddened that the child was crying, "You people are so petty and tiny," he said, even though he was also part of the argument session.

After recovering, Steve cast his eyes to the others in the area as Tony kept comforting his daughter, she took calming breaths before they were able to separate from each other – Tony inspected her face as he cleaned her tears, "I'm so sorry, that was bad. You shouldn't have seen me acting like that, I'm sorry I brought you here. Are you okay? How's your asthma?"

At that, Steve was intrigued. Because before the serum, he had been asthmatic. He never thought that Stark's daughter could have had it as well. Now he felt terrible after realizing he had just taunted her dad right in front of her, how disrespectful could he get? He lowered his eyes down onto the floor with shame.

"I'm okay daddy, please don't fight anymore" she sniffed as he kissed her forehead.

"You got it," he told her quickly.

"Yeah, this is a team," Bruce remarked, averting his eyes from the father-daughter scene.

At the same time, Fury ordered, "Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his–"

"Where? You rented my room," the scientist argued in aggravation.

"The cell was just in case–" Fury attempted to justify before Bruce interrupted.

"–In case you needed to kill me – but you can't. I know, I tried."

The tension in the lab abruptly dissolved at his yelled admission, all gazes fixed on Bruce – even Primrose seemed to halt as she covered her mouth. He averted his eyes from the stares and uncomfortably explained, arms crossed over his chest, "I got low, I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out," he mostly avoided looking at Primrose, damn he felt shitty for saying this in front of a kid but the moment was asking for it.

"So I moved on, I focused on helping others – I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show–" his shoulder shifted as he moved back a step. Primrose suddenly was hidden behind her dad, not knowing why but she saw Thor balancing his stance, his expression showing his internal preparation for combat, "–and put everyone here at risk," Bruce shifted forward again as he growled, "You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?"

Fury cast his widened eye to one of the Doctor's hands as he placed his own on the guns strapped to his thigh, slowly moving the fastening forward so to allow him to draw the weapon as Natasha prepared to draw her own firearm at his side.

"Dr. Banner," Steve called, and Bruce's wild attention drew onto him, "Put down the scepter."

Primrose gasped behind her dad's back, but he hid her even more. He felt stupid, so shitty. Here he was trying to jab Banner, trying to see the green on his skin and having a laugh about it when seeing Bruce just holding the scepter with no green on sight brought Tony fear as his daughter trembled behind him. What was he thinking?! After this, he would take Primrose back to Emma and involve her around a pillow fort of safety.

Bruce stiffened before turning his gaze down to his left hand, searching the long weapon in confusion as to when he had lifted it from its stand on the table behind him. The gem shone steadily. His mystification was interrupted by a trilling beep emitting from the monitor across the room, the depiction expanding the image of the world to a precise location, an alert flashing to signal 'ENERGY SIGNATURE MATCH: 95%'

Tony got up but still held Primrose behind his back in a protective manner as the occupants of the room all turned towards the sound. Natasha swiftly returned her gaze onto Bruce as he returned the scepter to the surface of the worktable, "Got it," Fury announced in response to the alarm.

"Sorry kids," Bruce started, giving Primrose an apologetic smile, she gave him a curious look back, "You don't get to see my party trick after all," he walked the length of the lab to analyze the screen.

"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

"I could get there faster," Tony inserted as Thor insisted, "The Tesseract belongs on Asgard – no human is a match for it."

"You're not going alone," Steve asserted as Tony turned to the exit, he grabbed the man's upper arm and the other one was holding Primrose's hand, there was no way he was leaving her here.

"You gonna stop me?" her dad retorted, shrugging it off.

Steve was about to taunt him again, but he looked down at Primrose and saw the look on her face, her expression telling him to stop and back away with saddened eyes. The blonde gulped, he was doing it again. Why was Tony so irritable?

Fury watched the almost confrontation, taking note that the little girl managed to stop it from escalating.

"I don't wanna teach my kid that's it's okay to hit old people," Tony quipped, half-serious.

Steve squinted his eyes, "Put on the suit."

Primrose sighed.

Bruce removed his glasses as he surveyed the screen in front of him, the section of the Cube's gamma signature that was recognized highlighted in red in one of the lower corners as the alert percentage increased from ninety-eight to ninety-nine, and then a hundred percent, "Oh my God" he muttered at the location displayed.

Suddenly, a loud explosion resonated underneath them, shaking the lab, but before anyone had time to react to it flames ripped through the engine alongside and up through the center of the floor of the room where they were gathered. Everyone was thrown away, Natasha and Bruce flung through the glass separating the upper area from the space below.

Tony was able to grab Primrose and use his own body as a shield. But she was still shaken. Plumes of smoke started to haze, spreading from the hole they had been blasted from inside as well. Steve and Tony both looked at Primrose with worry, and when the ten-year-old looked at them wide-eyed, but safe, "PRIM! Are you okay?!" Tony asked at once.

"I'm f-fine!" she replied, trembling.

The two men stared at each other in shock from where they lay on the floor, sure they were glad that she was fine but what happened still affected them. Both scrambled to their feet, Steve helping Tony raising Primrose up.

"Put on the suit," "Yep!" the soldier ordered urgently as he reached for Tony's arm, they stood but stumbled, before steadying himself and grasping Tony by the waist as he fell, disoriented, and Primrose by her arm with his free hand – he was juggling Starks – into the door frame, helping them out of the room.

"Daddy! What about Ms. Romanoff and Dr. Banner?" Primrose cried as they were in the corridor.

"Honey, please, I can't–" Tony panicked as he realized he his daughter just suffered an explosion, "OH MY GOD! ARE YOU OKAY?!" he finally screamed as he held her by her shoulders, startling her.

"STARK!" Steve pried Tony from Primrose and shoved him against the wall, "Listen to me, you can't panic right now. I know you're scared for your daughter's safety but you need to focus. You need to suit up before anything worst happens. Do you understand that?" he stated firmly, letting go of Tony after his declaration.

"Daddy, I'll hide! I'm good at hiding, remember?"

"No, I can't leave you alone!" Tony argued, Steve let him go and looked between them sadly.

"Stark, you have to trust her. Without us, this thing will go down."

"YOU'RE ASKING ME TO LEAVE MY KID ALONE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS MESS?!"

"I'M TELLING YOU THAT IF YOU DON'T GET MOVING, WE WILL ALL DIE!"

Primrose covered her ears, tired of the yelling, tired of feeling useless, "JUST GO ALREADY!" and then she did something Tony would never think she would do: she ran away from them.

"PRIMROSE!" the genius yelled.

"KID!" Steve called out.

She ran as fast as she could, everyone needed Iron Man now, she'd be fine. She was small and she was good at hiding. All she had to do was find an empty room, hide there and stay safe until her dad and the other heroes save the day.

Meanwhile, when Tony was about to go after her when he got the information that the Helicarrier was losing its engines passed over his earpiece, and that if they lost one more they wouldn't be in the air anymore.

_"Stark, you copy that?"_  Fury relayed.

Tony was shaking, his eyes stared hauntedly at the corridor where his baby vanished off to. He couldn't stop seeing her running away, ignoring his calling. Why did she do that? This wasn't Obadiah, there were no Hammer drones after her – this was Norse Gods and  _magic_.

Tony gulped dryly, he wanted to go after her. But now he had to fix the engines so he could have a flying Helicarrier to later find Primrose safe and ground her for the rest of her life.

Also, Emma was going to kill him.

"I'm on it," he finally responded, before turning to run towards the opposite side with Steve.

The blonde was worried about the girl, but he couldn't help to nod at her bravery. Right now he decided to keep Tony focused on the mission, "Attention, Stark's daughter is on the loose somewhere if you see her make sure she's safe," he declared at his own earpiece, dropping out the alert.

Mostly everyone got a copy of that, and Tony gave Steve a thankful nod.

Primrose ran as fast as she could, passing by many running agents and avoiding bumping into some of them too. She found herself halting when she recognized the corridor, so instead of following the path that led to the bridge, where the danger would definitely be, she went towards the opposite side and after leaving the cluster of agents running about behind – she slowed her running and tried to control her breathing when it was almost quiet.

She had no idea where she was, but all the ruckus was happening behind her. Primrose was in an area that seemed safe because of how quiet it was, but strangely she didn't feel safe – at all. The Helicarrier shook and she squealed when her body was pushed into the wall because of the movement, she easily lost balance. When she recovered, Primrose felt her stomach drop. She felt that something wasn't right.

She decided to sit down in the quiet corridor and just try to calm down, she remembered her karate lessons and the breathing exercises her Sensei taught. Closing her eyes, Primrose recalled those lessons and immediately started to feel her heartbeat slow down, ever since she began Karate, her asthma has diminished greatly. She wasn't cured, but the attacks have been shortened to rare nowadays.

She didn't how many minutes it has been, she felt the Helicarrier shake a lot, once it felt like it was falling down. But then it stopped, did they win? Was it over?

_"Prim?!"_

The ten-year-old opened her eyes, revealing her brown irises, "D-Daddy?" rising quickly, she used to wall to stand up.

"Primrose?" the voice called again, urgently.

She ran towards the door, blindly in need to see her dad. She wasn't scared of him scolding her from running away, or being grounded, she just wanted to see if he was unharmed.

"Daddy!" she yelled, hoping that he heard her. Footsteps started to approach her from behind, so she looked back and smiled widely when she saw her dad appearing from the corner of a corridor, "Over here!"

Tony looked at his daughter, and relief crossed his expression, "Primrose!" he sighed as he made his way towards her, she met him halfway and the two hugged.

"Daddy, I'm sorry!" she quickly said, tearing up a little bit, "I'm sorry I ran away!"

Tony shushed her gently, "It's okay dear, it's quite all right. Everything is fine now, daddy's got you."

Primrose sniffed as Tony grabbed her hand to suddenly start leading her somewhere, "Where are we going, dad? Is everyone okay?" she asked at once, trying to keep up with her dad. Why was he walking so fast?

"Everyone is fantastic, we're going somewhere to keep you safe. Loki escaped."

"Oh..." Primrose mumbled, but then she noticed they weren't going back towards the bridge, in fact, she realized she was being taken away to the other side of the ship, "Are you taking me somewhere?"

Tony smirked, "Yes dear, I'm taking you home."

* * *

_"Agent Coulson is down,"_  Fury's voice transmitted through everyone's earpiece.

On the bridge, Hill's minor wound was being treated before Fury's voice transmitted the information. She pushed the medic's hand away, raising her fingers to lightly press on the device as she focused on the report with furrowed brows.

"A medical team is on its way to your location," an agent replied. Natasha's gaze was distant as she listened in while behind her, two agents grabbed Clint's arms and dragged his unconscious body away.

_"They're here – they called it."_

Steve and Tony stood immobile by the third engine in their suits, cowl, and helmet off, averting their stares to the granting of the flooring at the response. Tony exhaled lengthily as a frown twisted his lips, shoulders slumping. He was saddened by Phil's death, but how was he going to tell it to Primrose? Oh, God-where was she?

_"Does anyone has eyes on Primrose? A little girl?"_

They all replied with a negative.

Steve and Tony were seated side by side at the hexagonal glass table of the upper level of the bridge; the Captain had removed the top half of his outfit, gloves, and belt to leave him in a blue, long-sleeved, cotton shit over his uniform's pants and boots while Tony had stepped out of his suit to slouch in his chair in a Black Sabbath shirt and dark pants.

_"Tony I'm sorry. But I'm seeing security footage of Loki impersonating as yourself, taking Primrose into a Quinjet. She only noticed it was Loki when he dropped the disguise inside of it. She was unharmed but–"_ Maria Hill informed.

All was interrupted when Tony screamed, filled with pure rage. Even Steve was startled by the genius when he tossed his own earpiece across the room.

"Sta–"

" **SHUT UP!**  JUST SHUT UP ROGERS! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOU RIGHT NOW!" he yelled furiously with eyes widened manically. He then pulled at his own hair and stared at his own reflexion in the glass, "Oh God" she was gone. Loki took his baby. This was his fault, he brought Primrose here, "Oh G-God" he gasped for air. Emma was going to murder him, and he going to let her. What was he supposed to tell her? "Shit, shit,  _shit..._ "

Steve eyed him warily, "I'm sorry..." was all he said before the two fell into a tense silence, where Steve would pretend not to hear the genius's sobbing.

Minutes later, and Director Fury stood across from them in his official leather ensemble, focusing on shuffling through a number of small items in his hands for a few moments of silence.

"Stark. I'm sorry he took Primrose," Fury began as Maria Hill stood with her hands behind her back next to him, her eyes gazed on the floor before flicking up at him at his comment. She looked sad, she pitied the little girl.

"You're...sorry...?" Tony wasn't being logical, he just wanted to blame someone. But before he began accusing Fury, the Director stopped him.

"Loki is a trickster. It was no one's fault that he was able to trick your daughter into thinking he was the man she trusts the most in her life. She's only a kid, he knew how to persuade her," Nick stated firmly, "Obviously if he wanted to kill her, he'd done it in front of you because he's a dramatic bitch like that."

Tony closed his eyes and allowed himself to take a deep breath, Fury was right. Loki was using Primrose for something, and he had actually killed someone: Phil Coulson. Poor man, again, how was he going to break the news to his daughter, to everyone?

This was a mess. He was going to kill Loki.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket," Fury remarked when he saw that Tony had calmed down, "I guess he never did get you to sign them, I hope you sign Primrose's when you see her again," he forcefully spun the trading cards onto the table, some of the wet blood splattering from where it had smeared over the glossy surfaces onto the glass. Tony wasn't going to question how did Fury know that his daughter had them as well, he just guessed Phil told him.

Steve sighed as he reached forward, he felt guilty that he never signed them, and now as he thought that Primrose might've actually wanted Steve to sign her own cards as well – just when he thought about he terrible he acted in front of her – made him feel utterly shameful.

"We're dead in the air here," Fury explained as he pinched a corner of one of the cards and flipped it up to face him, "Our communications, the location of the Cube, Primrose's whereabouts–" Tony gave him a dark look, "–Banner, Thor I've got nothing for you."

Tony's eyes remained downcast until they drifted upward to stare into the middle distance, Fury continued, "Lost my one good eyes," he braced his palms on the surface of the table as he shook his head, saying, "Maybe I had that coming."

He refocused his gaze onto the two before him, Steve laying the card back onto the glass, "Yes," Fury admitted as he began to circle the table, "we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract," he paused by one of the seats, resting his hands on top of the backrest as he elucidated, "I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier," Tony cast his eyes down to his lap as Steve's head tilted towards Fury with attention.

"There was an idea – Stark knows this," the Director started as he resumed walking, Steve turning his head slightly to note Tony's seat as the billionaire lifted his head minutely, "called the Avenger Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more," Steve's brow furrowed, averting his contemplative stare as Fury continued, "To see if they could work together when we needed them to – to fight the battles that we never could."

Tony turned his head to observe Fury in his peripheral as he turned his thumbs over one another in his lap, deeply thinking about Primrose's safety while trying to pay attention at the same time.

"Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea," at Fury's statement, Tony tensed in his chair, "In heroes," that was enough for Tony, he stood from his chair.

His gaze shifted from the distance and his thoughts to his surroundings before he strode out of the bridge.

"Well," Fury mused as he watched Tony's exit, folding his hands behind his back, "It's an old-fashioned notion."

* * *

The paneling of the floor fitted together over the hole through which the glass cell had fallen, Tony stared into the middle-distance as he stood on the edge with his phone near his ear, "Yes, I know. I know–Emma, I'll get her back. I'm sorry."

_"Don't be sorry Tony, just bring our baby back safely!"_ Emma cried on the other line, she was fully sobbing at this point.

"I will. I promise I will and then I'll never bring her with me to work, I promise. Even if I have to leave her with her friend's parents if you're unavailable."

_"We have babysitters, Tony! This is why we hired them!"_

"I know! But we had to leave in a rush! Emma–I gotta go, I have to think."

_"Okay just, tell me as soon as you got her back, please Tony"_ Emma sighed tiredly, Tony tensed at her voice but nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll have JARVIS text you," he promised before he hung up the phone.

Sighing deeply, Tony looked around the destruction with panicked eyes as footsteps echoed through the room as Steve entered, the soldier actually had overhead the conversation but decided to give the genius some privacy before making himself known. He at least now knew the name of Primrose's mother. Emma.

Crossing his arms over his chest and leaving on the railing adjacent to the other, Steve asked him, "Was that her mother?"

Tony almost rolled his eyes, "Yes."

Steve nodded, and then made another question, "Are you two...?"

"Divorced? No, Rogers, we aren't, we're not even together, welcome to the twenty-first century. If you really wanna know, we hooked up once eleven years ago and then my daughter was born. There, you have it, playboy Tony Stark finally made an oopsie and had a kid with a stranger almost ten years younger than him, you wanna talk about it? How about I invite you over tea after all this shit is fixed?!" he quipped at Steve with a snarl, making the other shift uneasily.

"I didn't mean–"

"I know what you meant," Tony cut in, his tone dismissive.

They were both in uncomfortable, awkward silence for a few seconds. Steve decided to change the subject as he cleared the throat, "Was Coulson married?"

"No," Tony answered, his tone calmer, "There was a-a cellist, I think," he added after an afterthought.

"I'm sorry, he seemed like a good man," Steve said, sounding genuinely sad.

Tony huffed in aborted, mocking laughter, turning to him, "He was an idiot," the genius stated.

"Why? For believing?" the blonde asked with a frustrated brow.

"For taking on Loki alone," he reasoned, allowing his arm to fall to his sides as he stepped back from the slight drop.

"He was doing his job–"

Tony scoffed as he moved down the stairs, "He was out of his league – he should have waited. He should have"

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony," Steve consoled, having lowered his arms and walked down the steps as well.

"Right, I've heard that before," he responded as his mouth twisted in a sour smirk as he moved past the Captain.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asked.

"We are not soldiers!" Tony insisted as he whirled around to face him, eyes slightly widened, "I lost my daughter, do you consider a ten-year-old a soldier?!" he yelled.

Steve sighed at the argument, "You didn't lose her, we'll get her back," he stated firmly as he watched the other man's gaze drift past him.

"I'm not marching to Fury's fife," the billionaire declared.

"Neither am I – he's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does," the Captain said, "But right now, we've got to put that behind us and get this done," he watched as Tony turned and noted the blood stain on the concrete wall where Coulson had passed away, "Now, Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list–"

"He made it personal," Tony suddenly proclaimed.

"That's not the point–"

"That is the point. That's Loki's point," the genius asserted, "He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart," Steve speculated.

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great," he agreed with one arm propping up the elbow of the other and his finger worrying his mouth in thought, "but he knows he had to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants," Tony concluded, "He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it – he wants an audience," he stepped around Steve in vigor, staring determinedly at his deductions.

"Right," the blonde drawled, "I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"He pretended to be me to kidnap my daughter, all on camera! And this is just the previews," Tony surmised with a point as he continued, "This is this is opening night and Loki, he's a full-tilt diva," the genius turned to the blonde on the raised steps and gesticulated, "He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a-a monument built to the skies with his name plastered–"

Tony halted in his description, arms outstretched, immobile, as Steve raised his eyebrows at the character, and location, depicted.

"Son of a bitch," Tony cursed as he trotted down the stairs.


	26. A Team - Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OOF! I was going to finish the Avengers with this chapter but it was becoming too long! So next chapter I'll wrap it up!
> 
> I made official wikis about my original characters in this story, just go to MARVEL FANON and look for them as well. I'm still working on the wiki pages and they are incomplete but the characters that I have there are:
> 
> Primrose Maria Stark (Earth 616)  
> Emma Renée Evans (Earth 616)  
> Joan Danner (Earth 616)  
> Jack Danner (Earth 616)
> 
> If you want, you can help me work on them by editing the wikis :) I hope you like them!
> 
> Transcript by 'archangelraphaelsdaughter' and movie belongs to Marvel!

 

 

 

**_May 4th, 2012_ **

**_Stark Tower  
New York City_ **

Primrose remained silent and put while she sat on the low-chairs on the balcony of Stark Towe. She couldn't believe she was back in the tower, her new home, with Loki. She might've been back but she didn't feel safe, at all.

And the fact that she allowed herself to be easily tricked by Loki pretending to be her dad made her feel futile. Now, because of her, her dad was probably worried and wasting his time searching for her instead of saving the world. She wanted to cry, she wanted to yell but Primrose remained silent as she watched Loki view the city with a confident posture as if he was King of the world.

"I thought children were supposed to be chatty," Primrose jumped a little at the sound of his voice. Surprisingly, it wasn't scary at all. His voice was smooth, almost gentle type. But Primrose knew better than to trust it, her parents always taught her not to trust strangers easily – especially when they kidnap you.

"You haven't screamed, or called for your precious father," Loki turned to her, and a smile crossed his lips, "Well, if I had a father like Stark I probably would not want him to find me either."

Primrose frowned, "What do you mean?" it was the first time she addressed him. During the flight to here, all Primrose did was stare at the floor with a scared expression, shaking like a leaf. She had calmed down a little when Loki didn't show any signs that he wanted to harm her, but she was still on guard.

Loki smirked, "He is a terrible father, is he not?"

The ten-year-old shook her head, "He's not."

Tilting his head, Loki began to approach her. Primrose was ordered to sit down and not move, but all she wanted right now was to stay away from him as possible. There was something about him, about his unnatural, glassy blue eyes, that made her fear him.

"He is not? Hm," he hummed, pretending to think as he eyed his scepter like a prized possession, "Let's see. He takes his own child to a dangerous place with a beast, assassins, Gods, and weapons. Then he proceeds to leave his child by herself, leaving me easily to take you–"

"You pretended to be him!" she cut him in, frustrated.

"Because you're naive!" he suddenly yelled angrily at her, mostly because she interrupted him.

Primrose quickly recoiled fearfully and covered her face with her arms, flinching harshly.

Loki took a deep breath as the gem inside his scepter began to shine brightly, "As I was saying – he let me take you. Because he's a terrible father, and I know you agree with me. You might be a stupid little girl, but I've been watching you, Primrose. You're keen."

Primrose lowered her arms, her scared expression shifting into a neutral one as she heard his jabs, "Calling me stupid and then keen doesn't make any sense." Her dad would always throw quips at the bad guys, even when he was scared, Primrose wondered if that was a way of him not allowing them to see that he was afraid of them – so she decided to test that. Primrose had to admit that Loki's tired expression was slightly funny, but she was still scared of him.

Loki sighed, he really should just take over her mind and use her against Stark, but that would be too easy. He just had to remind himself that he was dealing with a child, so of course, he'd have childish responses.

Primrose thought while Loki was silently watching her, his expressions would shift from mad to curious within seconds. She wondered why he hasn't done anything bad to her yet, was it because she was a kid?

"Why do you want me to think my dad is bad?" she asked, trying to distract him.

Loki's glassy eyes squinted slightly at her question, "I don't want you to think, Primrose, I want you to realize it," he stated with a soft tone. He didn't know why he was being patient with her, Odinson was the one that had a soft spot for children – Loki despised them. They were loud, not obedient and reckless. Just like Thor was.

The ten-year-old glared at him, feeling braver now that he looked calmer, the intensity she felt inside of her of wanting to defend her dad every time someone said he was a self-centered, narcissist bastard would grow every day – because they were all wrong. They didn't know Tony Stark as she did, her dad wasn't just a genius, billionaire, philanthropist man. He wasn't just Iron Man. He was her dad, a man that has changed over the years for her, for his new life as a father. He no longer partied every day, he no longer flirted with random women for the sake of it – he changed for the better, but Primrose knew he wasn't perfect. No one was.

"He's learning how to be better," she stated firmly, continued to voice her inner thoughts, "My dad may not be the best, but from what I've heard he's better than my grandfather," Primrose avoided Loki's eyes and stared at her own legs, tears threatening to fall from the corner of her brown eyes, "He told me his dad, and I witnessed with my own eyes the effect that my grandfather left on my dad when he and Steve argued with each other. There's bad blood between them, and my grandfather is probably the one to blame," she didn't know why it felt good to finally tell someone this, especially when that person was Loki, "Everyone is wrong about my dad, including you." she looked up and gave him a fervent stare, "You're going to lose, because you took me. My dad is going to kick your butt."

Loki glared at her, the gem on his scepter pulsating as it fed his anger, "You insolent child, how dare you–" he began to snarl but was interrupted when they heard the sound of supersonic jet exhaust fly up to the tower.

Primrose grinned, having seen a flash of red from Loki's shoulders as the God of Mischief turned around towards the windows. A few seconds passed and the two heard an explosion coming from above, shaking the building a little bit. Primrose lost her smile while Loki gained his.

"Fool," he muttered.

Then Iron Man showed up again, lowering to the curving catwalk into the building and landing with a clang on the platform as he powered off his thrusters, as he began to stride along the pathway Primrose couldn't help but sob a little, her daddy was here just like she believed he would. Sniffing, he began to immediately think about how she'd make it easier for her dad to fight Loki, she knew he obviously had a plan – even though he was taking his armor off – so this could get ugly and she couldn't get hurt, the ten-year-old was already feeling useless about getting easily tricked and kidnapped.

So as Loki paid more attention to her dad, she slowly started sliding to the farthest side, towards the edge of the seat as well.

The metal ring Tony had stood in the middle rose behind him and separated as he walked, the mechanical arms removing the scratched and dented segments of armor on him. He descended the row of steps as they worked, neck twisted to keep the dark-haired within his range of vision.

Loki gave a slight nod at Tony's unvoiced proposition, suggesting by his disarming before him, and turned to circle around the far side of the balcony, into the suite of the tower adjacent for a conversation. Their gazes were fixed on each other as they moved, expressions cautious, but determined on Tony's face and interested of Loki's.

"Daddy!" Primrose yelled. Loki's expression didn't change as he grabbed her harshly by the arm and dragged her inside with him, but Tony's neutral stare shifted into a dark one at the sight of him manhandling her like that.

He was going to kill him.

Primrose tried not to struggle, but Loki's tight hold was actually starting to hurt. The worst part was that he was strong enough to drag her with him, so she was helpless. Finally, Loki simply threw her into one of the low-chairs. It didn't hurt but she definitely gave him a nasty glare from making her feel like an object being tossed.

Tony averted his eyes as he entered into the area, an incredulous huff escaping at Loki's audacity to make his of his tower and kidnapping his daughter. The aforementioned God sauntered across the tiled floor with his scepter in hand, gem gleaming, humoring the genius with amusing in his tone as Primrose watched them, behind Loki's back, "Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity."

Loki was guarding her, and Primrose felt that if she tried to run to her dad something bad would happen to her. So she remained put on her chair, watching the exchange with worry in her eyes.

"Uh, actually I'm planning to threaten you. The moment you took my kid there was no second chances for you," Tony answered, hands behind his back as he shifted to walk down the stairs to the same level Loki and Primrose were on. He tried his best not to jump on him right away, seeing that Primrose was actually unharmed was enough to hold him back.

"You should have left your armor on for that," Loki chuckled.

"Yeah," her dad granted, before justifying, "It's seen a bit of mileage, and you've got the, uh– Glow Stick of Destiny."

That comment made the God smile admiringly as he cast his eyes onto the weapon in hand.

"Would you like a drink?" Tony offered, glancing quickly at Primrose suddenly. She felt like he was trying to tell her something with his eyes, but she didn't get it.

"Stalling me won't change anything," Loki laughed, grinning assuredly as he handed the scepter into the grip of his left hand.

"No, no, no – threatening," the genius protested nonchalantly as he circled behind the bar, pointing at the selection of liquor behind the counter, "No drink – you sure? I'm having one," he then looked at his daughter, "Prim, you want some chocolate milk? There's some here."

Primrose was about to reply but Loki suddenly pointed his scepter at her, making her gasp.

"HEY!" Tony yelled, "You're talking to me, leave her alone!"

Primrose's breathing was quick as she stared at the sharp tip of the scepter being pointed at her, she could feel the energy radiating from it and while she wasn't nervous, she feared it. She saw how Selvig looked like in the Quinjet that Loki lured her to, he seemed crazy.

After a tense moment, Loki turned away from Primrose with bared teeth to view the city through the floor-to-ceiling- windows that formed the wall beside him. Tony visible sighed of relief while Primrose felt her whole body weaken out on her.

Loki's breathing hardened as he stated, "The Chitauri are coming – nothing can change that," he spun back with an impassive face and lifted his chin, "What have I to fear?" he declared.

"The Avengers," Tony countered as he unstoppered the glass vial of scotch in hand. He paused and glanced to see Loki's furrowed brows and slow approach, acknowledging the ludicrousness with a raise of an eyebrow and rolled eyes as he explained while pouring the whiskey into a tumbler, "It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. Earth's Mightiest Heroes-type thing."

"Yes," Loki said with a mocking smile, "I've met them."

"Yeah," Tony laughed, "it takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one – but, let's do a head count here: your brother, the demigod–"

Primrose watched as Loki snarled, tightening his grip on the scepter as he turned away. She realized then that mentioning Thor was a sensitive subject.

Tony watched carefully as well as the other's turned back as he continued while reaching under the ridge of the bar counter, "–a super-soldier, a living legend – who kind of lives up to the legend–"

He was talking about Steve, and Primrose couldn't help but smile at the way he was describing him. Did they amend while she was gone? She hoped they got along well now, she wanted to like Steve – he seemed nice, except for the part where he insulted her dad. Still, Primrose was proud of her dad right now.

She saw him twist the slim metal bracelet he had grabbed from behind the bar around his wrist and click it closed. Cringing at the sound it produced, she looked warily at Loki, afraid he'd heard it. But if he did he didn't show it.

"–a man with breath-taking anger management issues–" her dad continued as Loki looked over his shoulder to smirk at the list and "intimidation", turning to pace back towards the bar, "–a couple of master assassins" her dad said as he snapped the other bracelet on, pointing to add, "And you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan," Loki stated.

Tony allowed himself a sip of his drink, retorting, "Not a great plan," with a patronizing twist of his lips, "When they come – and they will – they'll come for you."

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk."

Primrose smiled at her dad's firm tone.

"Oh? I thought the beast had wandered off?" Loki questioned with a gesticulation of his scepter.

"You're missing the point," her dad snapped as he moved closer, "There is no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us – but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it."

"Daddy..." Primrose whispered in awe as her dad took the liberty of drinking a portion of his scotch again.

Loki turned to Primrose and grinned wickedly, "I wonder what would happen to your daughter in the middle of this?" he drawled his question and Tony's expression froze into an angry one as his jaw clenched, "You claim you'd avenge Earth, but how would you avenge your daughter's death if it was your fault?"

Primrose squealed as Loki suddenly lunged at her, to grab her by the arm, but she was quicker than him when she hopped out of the chair and ran from him as fast as she could, Loki growled out with frustration but his scepter remained aimed at Tony, who was watching his daughter with panic.

"Hide!" he told her urgently.

Primrose nodded and circled around them, Loki glaring at her. But then, a charming smile crossed his lips as the ten-year-old reached the bar her dad previously was, behind the counter, Primrose eyed the mischievous God warily.

"Oh, well, children will be children. They're all so disobedient. Aren't they?" he mockingly asked Tony, who glared at him fiercely, "I don't need to anything to your daughter. As a matter of fact," Loki prowled over the few steps separating them, "How will your daughter react when her own daddy hurts her? How will your friends have time for me," he growled, "when they're busy fighting you?" The whir of the scepter's power sounded in the room as Tony's eyes widened, the gem shining bright azure as its energy flowed over the tip of the blade.

Then it touched the center of her dad's chest.

"NO!" Primrose yelled fearfully.

With the faint ring of metal, the gem's power dissipated and the three were left staring at the end of the scepter.

Loki breathed through his confusion with parted lips, having lowered the weapon and raising it again to Tony's held breath, and the same cling sounded. Then, Primrose realized, the clinging sound was her dad's arc reactor! Relief crossed her face.

"Wow," she mumbled.

"This usually works," Loki said in mystification.

Of course, as always, her dad started throwing quips instead of running, "Well, performance issues, you know," Tony replied with a mock-sympathetic expression, "It's not uncommon – one out of five, I'm told–" his jibe was cut off when Primrose screamed with horror as Loki abruptly seized him by the throat. Tony's eyes widened with panic as he was tossed to the floor, "JARVIS, anytime now," he uttered as he climbed to his feet, "PRIMROSE DOWN!" he managed to yell.

Loki had moved swiftly to his side and grabbed him by the jaw, Primrose panicked and grabbed one of her dad's expensive whiskey cups and threw it at Loki – missing him completely – but it was a good attempt. He drew him nearer to his face and Tony clutched the arm holding him, "You will all. Fall. Before me," he pronounced furiously.

"Deploy!" Primrose heard her dad chock out. Then she noticed that JARVIS had slid open a paneled section of the wall on the other side of the room, "Deploy!" she whipped her head to her dad again, eyes widened as he chocked the word while being lifted from the floor and hurled bodily through a window.

As the glass pane shattered upon contact, Primrose let out a loud scream of terror, "DADDY!" she began running to go after him but Loki turned around and shot a beam at the floor in front of her, purposely missing but sending her a warning.

"Now, I'm sure  _you_  won't give me performance issues," Loki manically stated, but before he could step towards her he spun around at the sound of a mechanical whirl and faced the ejection of a shiny metal capsule from its hidden space on the wall, Primrose was terrified at this point but she couldn't help the awe at it as well, especially when the machine punches into his side as it passed by him, smashing through a window to follow her dad's descent.

"Please make it, please make it," Primrose repeated to herself like a mantra.

Loki looked down and Primrose watched him give a close-mouthed sneer when Iron Man rose to hover before him, "And there's one other person you pissed off," he announced heatedly, "His name was Phil."

Primrose backed away again, but she scrunched her face with confusion at the same time,  _'Was?'_

She watched as Loki raised his scepter with a grin, but her dad raised a hand, his palm whirring as he fired a repulsor blast and knocked the God backward. Loki landed on his back with a yell as his scepter clattered beside him, but before Tony could move further into the floor the spinning device on top of the tower abruptly increased in speed and shot a blinding beam into the sky.

Primrose didn't know what her dad was seeing, she made a move and ran to the balcony and gasped at the sight.

"D-Daddy?" she meekly called out.

Iron Man looked at her, "Prim, honey, I want you to go inside your bedroom and lock the door–no, wait! Hide behind the bar, there's a small hole there between the cooler and the boxes of glasses. Stay there and don't get out until I say so," she looked at the groaning Loki, who was still recovering and not paying attention to them, Tony followed her eyes, "No, don't worry about him. Just go and hide quickly!"

She was panicking, her breathing was becoming erratic as she kept her eyes on her dad and then at the hole in the sky, "D-Daddy! I'm sorry I ran!" the brunette blurted out as she started crying, "I just wanted you to focus on fighting and–"

"Primrose!" Tony cut her quickly, he was also about to cry his eyes out to see her in this state, but there was no time for arguments or apologies since aliens were literally dropping from the sky, "We'll talk later honey, GO!" and with that, she watched him fly away.

"DADDY!" she yelled, but he was gone. Wheezing, Primrose looked back at the hurt Loki and quickly scurried away behind the bar. But as she passed by one of her dad's desks on the way, she saw one of her dad's earpieces and decided to grab it, placing it on her ear, "JARVIS?" she called out as she got herself inside the space behind the bar, "Can you connect me with my dad? I wanna hear everything."

" _Certainly Ms. Evans-Stark, also, would you like me to contact your mother?"_

Primrose's mouth gaped, she didn't even think about that and she instantly wanted to say yes, but then she halted her own voice and bit her lower lip. If she calls her mom, she will definitely try to come and get her. And that could be dangerous. Her mom was out of the city at the moment and if she came back, especially to the tower, she'd be in danger.

"No, don't say anything. Just connect me to my dad, please," she said.

_"Very well."_

She felt bad, her mom was probably worried but she needed to start thinking about everyone's life as well.

The Tesseract's beam streaked brightly up to the portal high above the city, the infantry of the Chitauri army flying down to spread out in squadrons to the surrounding areas. All traffic on the streets below halted; businessmen and women, students, all civilians bearing witness to the event wandered out onto the streets or stepped out of their cars/cabs to stare up at the event in horrified awe. At the swift descent of the aliens the crowd began screaming and clamoring for shelter, the rays fired into the streets throwing cars, blasting through the paved roads, and launching fires.

Sparks showered the spaces between buildings as flames erupted as a result of the Chitauri's attacks, New Yorkers and tourists chaotic in their attempts to flee the destruction. The wait-staff of a small café below the tower scrambled to usher their patrons into the building before contributing to the cacophony of screams of terror in the wair as several boards flew over them, shooting freely. A waiter and two waitresses were the last to dash into the attached building, one, named Beth, the blonde who had served the Captain the day before was one of them. They panted in relief when afforded a temporary shield from the attack, gaping out the window at the sight of the invasion.

Back in the tower, Primrose had heard Loki get up from the floor and yell out with frustration that his plan to have Stark fight against the Avengers had failed, and that the child had gotten away as well. He knew she was hiding in the tower, somewhere, but he had not the time or patient to go after her. So he strode outside, along the length of Tony's dismantling catwalk high above in a shimmer of gold, armor now constructed upon him, gleaming in the sunlight as the scepter lengthened in hand, azure gem vivid. His green cape flapped in the faint breeze stirred by the soaring vehicles, and he raised his hands in a show of his initiation of chaos.

Primrose watched him the whole time, unnoticed to him and have gotten out of her hiding spot to peek at him as she kneeled. She rolled her eyes, "He's so dramatic," she mumbled to herself as she backed out to not push her luck, her attention was mostly on her earpiece until she heard a booming, familiar voice that made her eyes widen.

"Loki!" Thor called out in anger, and when Primrose peeked again at the balcony, she saw him land on the balcony below with Mjolnir, his hammer, in hand. The God of Mischief turned to the other with a sneer as the blonde raised his hammer and demanded, "Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!"

"You can't," Loki shouted, pointing his scepter down at him, "There is no stopping it – there is only The War."

"So be it."

Primrose's eyes widened when Loki leaped down with a yell and stab of the scepter, she saw Thor grunting as he dodged to the side, swinging his hammer only for Loki to move behind his weapon and the hammer to impact the vertical length. He was thrown back with a noisy clang as Loki jerked the tip of the scepter from the flooring and sliced it in an arc around him to Thor's hasty crouching beneath the swing. The momentum brought the weapon up along the back of Loki's shoulders, and he fired an azure beam from the tip to Mjolnir, deflecting a concussive blast with his hammer's head again. The wreck of the 'R' and 'K' of the emblazoned 'STARK' on the tower shot through and its charred remains sent tumbling to the ground below.

Primrose covered her mouth with shock, she only hoped no one got hurt down there.

Men and women screamed at the onslaught of the Chitauri's shots fired from their vehicles above, running through the streets in search of shelter as sirens called through the air. The white and blue NYPD cars screeched to a stop at the end of one of the main streets the aliens were attacking, a cop stepped out to stare wide-eyed at the invasion as Iron Man soared overhead with four pairs of Chitauri trailing after him.

_"Sir, you're connected with your daughter,"_  JARVIS suddenly warned Tony as he was chased.

"What?! How?!" Tony exclaimed as he dodged a building.

_"Daddy! Can you hear me? Loki and Thor are fighting in the balcony right now, but they don't know I'm here!"_ Primrose's shaken voice sounded from the side of one of his screens.

Tony almost had a panic attack, "Honey, I want you to stay hidden!"

_"I am!"_

The Quinjet flew over the edge of the city towards where the bright azure of the Tesseract's power beamed upwards,  _"Stark, we're on your three, headed north-east,"_  Natasha radioed him.

"What – did you stop for a drive-through?!" he remarked tensely at the video of her communication displayed in the bottom corner of his helmet, next to Primrose's voice one.

_"Is that Ms. Romanoff?"_

_"Primrose?! You're okay!"_  Natasha exclaimed, relieved.

Tony then realized that JARVIS connected his daughter through the team's communication system, not only with him, this could be bad or good, "Enough chit-chat. Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you." he told Natasha.

_"Good luck, daddy!"_  Primrose cheered as she watched Thor and Loki on her side. She was feeling more motivated now that she heard Natasha's voice, that meant that everyone was coming to help her dad!

Tony smirked at her cheering and darted through the clear sky followed closely by eight flying boards, circling his tower to Loki and Thor exchanging blows on the balcony just like Primrose had told him, while he swerved to dodge the flurry of rays fired at him. He turned sharply to a couple of the aliens crashing into the side of a building as the Quinjet sailed down a perpendicular street, Natasha unveiling a large mechanized fun from the hull.

Clint Barton flew between the columns on high-rises as Tony soared through the intersection in front of him as Natasha fired the rail gun at the aliens that tailed him before they crashed through one as Clint tilted the plane upward to fly over the building facing them.

_"Sir, we have more incoming,"_  JARVIS warned.

Primrose heard it, and she tensely tried to hear more, it was almost impossible since two Norse Gods were having a brotherly fight right outside. She almost shouted a 'knock it off' at Loki and Thor but they might not appreciate that.

"Fine," Tony said briskly in recognition, "Let's keep them occupied," he replied with determination, making Primrose smiled proudly as she heard her dad's courageous tone.

The Quinjet circled up around Stark Tower as she shot down the Chitauri that flew to engage her, above, Thor swinging Mjolnir with a grunt and bared teeth while Loki arched backward to allow her to sail over his head. The latter surged forward with a snarl to grab Thor by the nape of the neck and crash his head through the glass panes that rose waist-high to serve as railings.

Primrose looked up at the sound of glass shattering and her eyes widened when she saw the Quinjet facing the Gods down below, Loki baring his teeth at the sight. He threw Thor to the floor and raised the long scepter as he balanced himself amidst Natasha's shooting, and then he fired a beam of blue at the plane.

"Ms. Romanoff!" Primrose yelled in panic, she ran outside and stayed on the opposite balcony to where Loki and Thor were as she watched the jet plummeted in a dark cloud. The Quinjet whirled around a corner of the tower, right side skimming the tips of two buildings it passed and then it crashed to the expanse of a paved square whose concrete was broken and forced to part as the jet slid forward. Primrose heard Thor and Loki continuous fight but she could only run to the edge of the tower, bracing herself on the glassed waist-high railing, and looking down with worry.

"Is everyone all right?!" She asked through her earpiece.

_"Who's that?"_  Clint asked.

_"We're fine Primrose, please get inside to safety,"_  Natasha replied,  _"That's Tony's kid,"_ she replied to her partner.

_"His what?!"_  Hawkeye squawked incredulously.

_"Focus!"_ Steve suddenly snapped at them, before addressing the little girl,  _"Primrose, I'm glad you're okay, but do you have eyes of Loki and Thor? What's happening?"_

Before Primrose could reply, Tony interjected,  _"Oh no you don't! Don't try to make her part of this mission, Rogers!"_

Primrose rolled her eyes and looked behind her,  _"They're fighting, I don't know who's winning though!"_  she replied anyways.

Steve attached his shield to his left arm as he strode out of the opening hatch, Natasha and Clint following. They darted glances up to the top of the tower in the distance as they skipped around the abandoned cars in the middle of the road.

"We got to get back there," Steve stated. He also didn't like the idea that Primrose was up there by herself when two Gods were fighting each other.

They ran between pieces of debris and flipped vehicles whose engines still flamed before coming to a stop before Grand Central, a loud mechanical growl sounding from above. All three craned their necks so to gape at the portal, Clint sinking into a defensive stance as the fingers of his right hand tightened their grip on his bow.

Primrose looked up as well and saw the white of the faint clouds contrast with the deep, dark space shown through the portal. A shadow moved towards the opening, a round head with shining blue eyes opened its maw to allow another reverberating roar through the sunned air as it arrived, black ridged with layers of thick shell and as the fins at its sides propelled it through the sky. Tall spines ran up its length as it flew down along right in front of her, in the Stark Tower, before arching up and swerving through the street to the decimation of the statue crowning the terminal the three Avengers stood in front of.

Primrose was speechless, horrifyingly speechless. She had just witnessed a monster that could only come out of her nightmares. She couldn't handle that, her knees started to wobble as the strength of them gave out, making her drop on the floor as her breathing started to become irregular. How were they going to defeat that monster? How was her dad going to?

_"Prim, I can hear you. Calm down, that thing you saw–I know, honey, I know it's scary but I need you to focus on my voice. Can you do that?"_  her dad said on her ear, and for a moment Primrose forgot she had the earpiece on because his gentle cooing made it look like he was right next to her.

"Daddy p-please don't die" she whined weakly, "Please..."

Steve, Natasha, and Clint all turned to follow its progression as it passed overhead and continued on legions of Chitauri rappelling from where they had been hanging from its side onto the buildings it was weaving between, they all heard the exchange between Primrose and Tony but they decided not to say anything.

Clint was fuming, as a secret father of two children he instantly felt his fatherly instincts take over and all he wanted was to protect the little girl whose trembling voice belonged to. Natasha knew that, but all she could do was comfort him through a way only the two knew.

The Chitauri emitted sparks as they slid down as their claws secured a hold, one jumping through a window to land on all fours while the ones inside screamed and ran from their desks as it removed the gun from its back and stood to fire towards them.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked apprehensively through his earpiece.

"Seeing – still working on believing," Primrose heard her dad admit in awe, "Where's Banner – has he down up yet?" he questioned.

"Banner?" Steve repeated.

"Just keep me posted," Tony insisted, "JARVIS, find me a soft spot and show me Prim's vitals," he bade in eagerness as he soared parallel to the create slashing through high-rises with its fins.

Primrose was trying to stand up with the help of the railing, her knees still wobbled but she was able to stand up. Her attention returned to the two brothers, her eyes widened as she met Thor's – who had already been watching her.

"Look at this!" Thor yelled while Mjolnir caught between the Gods' bodies as the blond held the other close, shaking him fiercely, "Look around you!" Loki's eyes were wide as he panted, noting the invading Chitauri and burning buildings spread out below, "You think this madness will end with your rule?" he snarled at his brother.

Loki stared at him with fearful gravity, "I-It's too late," he said, breathing hard as he looked towards the violence surrounding, "It's too late to stop it."

"No, it's not!" Primrose suddenly exclaimed as she approached them.

Thor and Loki looked at her, both shocked.

"You can help us Loki! I know you don't wanna do this, your eyes are like Mr. Selvig's! You're being controlled as well, aren't you?" she cried out, looking at him sadly.

At that statement, Thor looked into his brother's eyes and gaped with shock as he noticed the glassy blue mixed with his natural green orbs, "She is right brother, we can stop this – together," he asserted softly.

Loki allowed his panting mouth to curl upward at the corners in response before he inserted a small knife between the fingers of his right hand and stabbed Thor between the ribs. Primrose cried out as Thor gasped and instinctively hunched forward, dropping his hammer as Loki grasped the scepter he had left propped between their bodies. Primrose looked at Loki with horror, she had never seen someone stab another person, that was horrible!

Thor stumbled back and fell to one knee, bracing himself with his right hand on the flooring as Loki stood over him, "Sentiment," he chided, a tear gathering in the corner of his eye and falling onto his cheek as he smiled widely.

She noticed the tear, she knew he was there, "Wake up, Mr. Loki!" she yelled at him, tears forming on her eyes as well. Loki sneered at her, her sad and scared expression was making him angry.

Thor suddenly surged to his feet and yanked Loki by the shoulder with an enraged shout, twisting him and kicking him down to crash through the short glass boundary to his releasing of the scepter. Then he crouched to grab him by the neck and waist and hoisted him above his head, Primrose looking up with her jaw-slack, to slam him down to the floor, making the ten-year-old wince when Loki groaned at the impact. He remained still for a second and Primrose thought Thor had won, but then Loki rolled away from the Thunderer and dropped off the edge of the balcony, making Primrose squeak out a small 'no!'.

Thor and she quickly stepped forward to watch as Loki caught one of the Chitauri soaring past, grabbing onto the metal casting of the flying vehicle. Five pairs of aliens swerved to follow his flight through the skyscrapers. They swung out of sight and Primrose turned to a hard-breathing Thor, pulling out the bloodied throwing knife and tossing it to the floor.

They looked at each other for a moment, one angry and other possibly traumatized.

"I don't think I want a little sister anymore," Primrose quipped weakly.

Thor lost his angry expression and gave her a soft one, "Oh, little one" he cooed before he stood on one knee to pull her into a comforting hug, "You're braver than you look, and you almost got through Loki. For that, I thank you," Primrose let out a quiet sob-chuckle as Thor pulled them apart, "But now you must stay here until the battle is over. Your father, we, will fight until our very last breaths–" when he saw her eyes widen with panic, he quickly changed his speech, "–but of course, we shall all survive! And then we will celebrate and I will tell you the tales of war that I and my friends won!" ruffling her hair, he was pleased to see her smile, "Now be good, your father is concerned."

Primrose nodded, "Good luck Mr. Thor, don't get hurt..." she told him sweetly before she watched him take off from the balcony, flying with his hammer, towards the battle. She had an awed look on her expression, "So cool..." she sighed dreamily, wishing to fly as well.

She looked up and saw where the blue ray that opened the portal was coming from, Selvig was up there and she didn't want to be seen by him in case he'd do something about her. So she scurried off inside, choosing to stay near the balcony's entrance as she warily watched her surroundings, trying to not get noticed by a few Chitauri flying by.

* * *

Thor was quiet as he flew before he heard Tony's voice through his own earpiece,  _"Thanks for that, Shakespeare."_ even with the small quip, Tony was genuinely thankful for Thor's comfort towards Primrose.

"You are welcome, Stark, you have a good daughter. I can see you're a good father," Thor replied as he swung his hammer to take down a flying Chitauri in his way.

Tony smiled as he flew, yeah he was very lucky.

Meanwhile, Steve darted around an abandoned taxi to where Natasha and Clint crouched behind another, throwing his back against the body as Natasha whipped her head around for a moment as he joined them, "We've got civilians trapped here," Clint informed, knelt on one knee.

Blue beams fired from above as several Chitauri flew past, "Loki," Steve conveyed as the God overtook them. The blasts tore through windows and concrete, overturning cars and buses with explosions as innocents tried to escape the street he sailed over, cape flapping behind him, "They're fish in a barrel down there," he grimly realized at the scene before ducking further behind the car as a ray hit the corner.

Natasha stood and fired her two handguns at the Chitauri on the ground in front of her, Clint crouching low to the ground as he ran to the side of an upturned taxi to see two more aliens land to crush a black car and aim their guns at them, "We got this. It's good – go," she urged the Captain.

"Do you think you can hold them off?" he asked.

"Captain," Clint started as he tapped three buttons on the grip of his bow, making his quiver rotate and insert a shaft into the specific arrowhead, "It would be my genuine pleasure," he reached over his left shoulder to grab the arrow and stood without hesitation, spinning as he knocked it to stand fully, pull back, and fire. The projectile hit the closest grey-skinned being in the center of the forehead, the creature fell backward as the tip fired miniature rounds and killed other two.

Steve rounded the taxi as Natasha covered him, leaping up to vault off the intricate railing of the bridge they were on. He flailed in the air as he flew down amidst the beams of the Chitauri's weapons, landing roughly on the roof of the bus abandoned below and rolling to avoid further attacks and the sprouting flames before running its length and leaping from it. The long vehicle was riddled with explosions as he landed on the van in front, the blast tipping the car over its front to the Captain being flung through the air. He used the momentum to tuck into a roll in midair so to control the landing, stumbling at the high fall once on the ground but scrambling to continue darting forward at the rays directed at his heels.

Natasha shot her twin pistols as behind her Clint helped trapped civilians out through a window in the damaged streetcar that was angled across the width of the bridge. He grabbed a young boy handed to him from above and set his feet on the ground as a woman worked open another window and climbed through. Clint manually pulled apart the doors along the side of the vehicle as she sustained her defense and the rest of the passengers rushed out.

An alien grunted as a bullet charred the center of its forehead, Clint stepping out to Natasha's side while he knocked an arrow, drawing back and firing as the redhead remarked, "Just like Budapest all over again."

"You and I remember Budapest very differently," he replied with a bemused brow as he continued shooting, gaze drawn up above intermittently.

Steve dashed over the hood of a ruined car with his shield braced on his right forearm, cutting in front of a pair of policemen as he hopped onto the front of another forsaken automobile and vaulted over the taxi beside. He ran from the blue rays, dogging his steps with long strides, moving up the underside of an overturned taxi blocking his path.

* * *

Primrose was pressing the earpiece closer to her ear, her expression was expectant, she was just sitting silently and hearing the voices coming out from her earpiece. Her dad has been quiet, safe from a few grunts and huffs. Thor had flown further upward to find Selvig, and she was now alone.

She started to think about her mom, about Hanae and that boy she met at the Expo. Were they okay?

"JARVIS, can you call my mom?" she suddenly asked him.

_"Certainly Ms. Evans-Stark, I shall put the communication with your father and the other on hold,"_ JARVIS responded quickly,  _"She will be very pleased to hear from you,"_  he added as Primrose began hearing the phone dialing on her earpiece.

The child smiled sadly at the A.I.'s words, he was right.

_"HELLO? Tony is that you?!"_  Emma frantically answered.

"No mommy, it's me!" Primrose sobbed instantly, hearing her mom's voice seemed to have affected her and the emotions she was trying to hold back came pouring out at once.

_"Primrose! Oh, thank God–oh my baby! Where are you? I'm already on my way sweetie!"_  Emma sobbed as well, the blonde's expression was of pure joy but when she remembered what she saw on the news channel, the horror that was currently happening in New York City, she reminded herself that her daughter was probably in the middle of all that.

"No! You can't come here right now, mommy! I'm at dad's tower, I'm safe! But you have to stay away until daddy and the Avengers win the fight!" Primrose quickly told her, panicking at the thought of having her mom here.

_"W-What do you mean I can't? I saw on TV that there are aliens and giant whales flying about and you're by yourself?! I have to be there with you!"_

Primrose covered her eyes, "You'll die before you can reach me," she cried out, leaving Emma shocked at her daughter's words on the other side, "It's chaos in here mommy, this isn't Obadiah or drones – this is aliens shooting every human that they see," Primrose told her mom with a sad tone, "Mommy, promise me you'll come only when this is all over. You have to stay away from the city."

Emma could not believe what she was hearing, this was definitely the most mature she had ever seen in her daughter – Emma and Tony should be the ones telling Primrose this, the ten-year-old was giving her serious orders to stay away and even though Primrose was protecting her, Emma was her mother and she'd die for her baby no matter what, without caring who would be in her way.

Norse Gods or not.

_"Primrose, I understand what you're doing. I'm so proud of you for keeping a brave face, even though you just suffered a lot. But I'm your mom, I would do anything for you. And I will do my best to get to you,"_ Emma stated firmly, her voice brought tears to Primrose's eyes.

"Please don't die" the ten-year-old finally managed to sob out.

Emma smiled on the other side,  _"I won't."_

* * *

Flaming pieces of debris fell from the tops of the tall buildings lining the streets at the Chitauri attacks, the concrete landing to spray dust and fire onto the cluttered surface below. A young boy clutched onto the seatbelt tight across his chest as he panicked at the screaming outside of the car, his aunt leaned back from the passenger seat in front to usher him to curl across the seat, his form covered with her arms and torso. The man in the driver's seat, the boy's uncle, flinched and yelled at the reducing skyline that crashed around the vehicle before turning to view his threatened family cowering behind him.

"Ben!" the woman screamed out as the boy sobbed into his aunt's chest.

Determined, he forced the car into Drive and propelled it forward, tired screeching as he swerved around the debris and feeling citizens, hood demolished and engine topped with bright fire. He managed to bank into a wide alleyway while up above, overlooking their felling from the edge of a high-rise's roof, a Chitauri aimed its staff at the vehicle.

Captain America tackled the alien as it fired the beam, the shot arching wide as the two fell down to land on the pavement below. Steve glanced over his right shoulder as the car neared, frantically pushing himself from all fours into the air, spreading his limbs wide and rolling clear over the roof as it sped over the grey-skinned creature. He landed hard on his side as the vehicle continued on, the Chitauri having latched onto the rear bumper and managing to maintain its hold. The young boy and his aunts head twisted around to peer, gaping, out of the rear windshield for a moment before the alien growled and smashed an arm through the pane.

Ben yelled in fury as his wife screamed, reaching back to push her nephew down onto the seat and cover as much of him as she was capable from the grasping grey claws. Steve swiftly climbed to his feet at the sight and grabbed his shield from where it lay, instantly whipping it to smash into the distancing nape of the alien's neck as the car crashed into a dumpster at the end of the alley. The Captain darted to haul the corpse from the back of the vehicle to toss it to the ground, breathing heavily as he turned to stare at the boy, who shyly offered his shield back to him.

He received it with a thankful nod as the adults rushed out of their front seats, securing it onto his forearm before instructing, "Get underground."

"Yes, sir," Ben responded as he reached into the back seat and hoisted his nephew into his arms.

"Thank you, Captain America, thank you so much" the woman sobbed as both adults hugged their nephew together.

Steve nodded at her before retreating into battle, knowing that they'd be fine.

"Let's go May, we have to go," Ben said as he started leading his wife and nephew towards the nearest subway entrance, "Are you okay Peter?"

Peter Parker, aged ten, continued to gape at Captain America as the soldier disappeared, "I... touched his shield."

* * *

Tony flew around the tall buildings that littered the city to come to face the head of the goliath shelled creature gliding through the air, "Hey Prim?"

_"Yes daddy?"_  she responded quickly.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he sailed past while firing dozens of missiles from the panels above his shoulders, the explosions detonating along its maw and along the joins of its fins to its body. It groaned while snapping its teeth in the direction he had flown, turning tightly to follow his path, tail cutting through the corner of a high-rise behind it and sending bricks of debris crashing to the street below in a plume of dust.

_"I'm fine, just worried,"_ she sighed. Tony did check her vitals on the small screen showing in the corner of his helmet, her blood pressure was normal and her heartbeat as well, he nodded.

"Guess what, I got its attention," he stated as he hovered to note the creature's pursuit, it has turned from the established perimeter, "Wanna remind daddy what the hell was step two?" he anxiously muttered, eyes wide as he hastily spun to dark in the opposite direction.

_"Dad!"_  she exclaimed,  _"Step two is 'don't die!'"_  she snapped at him, rising from her seat and approaching the window as if she'd see him.

"Right!"

On the ground, Clint deflected a jab of a Chitauri staff with his bow before he swept the feet out from underneath it with her as well to throw it onto its back before him, standing above to spin the length of an arrow with a flourish before stabbing it forcefully through its chest to its shrieking and curling upward. Natasha balanced on the back of another with one leg hoisted over a shoulder and the other twisted around its torso, sending the strong electrostatic charge of her bracelet into the exposed muscle of the alien's neck.

She flipped from its falling corpse to engage those moving to surround her, skidding on her knees under a ray fired before spinning and leaping to smash her gun across the alien's head. Clint sidestepped a close-range attack to hit a grey-skinned being on the thigh with his bow, whipping it across its back as its legs buckled to send it rolling onto its back. He fell to one knee to shoot an arrow into its chest before he drew it again and knocked an arrow to fire at an enemy that he could see in a reflective surface lunging to attack his back. He stood as another swung its staff at his neck and blocked the strike with his bow.

Natasha grasped the staff knocked to the ground and twisted to spear the alien on her other side in the gut as Clint gored his opponent through the throat with an arrow before withdrawing the shaft. She spun to dodge a lunging blow and swung her acquired weapon into its back, hitting another across the head as it came at her before it grabbed the end of her staff. She pushed forward a couple of steps before she forced the end in front of its midsection and shot a beam from the tip.

Clint crouched low as he circled a trashed taxi with it is rear windshield shattered, but upon rising out from his cover a Chitauri dove to tackle him about the thighs and slammed him onto the ground with a snarl. He groaned as he quickly drew from the quiver he had landed on to stab the arrow into the heart of the alien above him, grabbing it by the nape of its neck to roll the prone form off of him. When he stood another marched to his side and kicked him in the chest, sending Clint tumbling over the hood of a taxi and land on the ground roughly on his upper back and shoulder that he used to continue rolling to land on his side. Bracing his forearms and heaving himself to his feet, he was attacked from behind and slammed into the side of a taxi with an extraterrestrial being pinning him. He managed to elbow the alien in the face before he was grabbed by the hair and slammed into the roof of the car with his head. Clint was thrown to the ground to roll and land on his stomach, eyes alert as he paused to wait for the Chitauri to begin driving its staff downwards before he rolled to the side to avoid it.

Natasha deflected a grey-skinned creature's swipe with her own staff before swinging at another, blocking its attack before bracing the shaft across her chest to resist a strong downward swipe. The other's swift blow threw her back onto the hood of another abandoned and wrecked taxi, gasping as she swung upwards to knock the encroaching Chitauri away. She braced her staff with both hands and surged upwards, getting to her feet while holding the other's weapon at bay before the alien twisted to bring its shaft skyward and heave her into the air and over its head.

She managed to spin and angle her front away before she landed harshly on the side of a dust-covered SUV, breathing heavily. Clint ducked under a successive strike while drawing another arrow, knocking, drawing back, and shooting his opponent in the chest as she rolled to gather her firm stance and reengage.

Natasha stood between two of the infantry, swinging her staff to parry the offense of the one on her right, then her left, before returning to fire a beam at the first to fling it backward. She spun around to land on one knee and laid the weapon over her shoulder, firing another ray at the other who had moved to attack. Natasha spun the weapon in her hands to block the grey-skinned being on either side of her. Several more Chitauri approached, two leaping over one of the cars blocking the edge of the bridge where they fought and firing blue beams from the guns on their arms.

Clint noted the additions and threw himself under the rays streaking across the area, sliding over the debris-riddled ground to the outside of the ring of Chitauri that had gathered. He drew and knocked an arrow before raising onto a knee and twisting back to shoot at one closest, firing another into the alien that had stood on top of a dark car. It rolled from its highpoint onto the ground, Clint shot another before kicking the gut of one who had approached, whipping it across the face with his bow before drawing and firing at it.

Steve ran over the large pieces of concrete building that were blocking the archer's left side to aid the two agents, he slammed his shield into an alien that had rushed to attack Clint before he jabbed another and whipped another backward. Clint stood and fired at those at a distanced approaching their position before the ones that had gained ground gurgled abruptly as bright lines of lightning bolted down from the sky and coursed through them.

Thor landed swiftly among their crumpled forms, though he fell unsteadily into a crouch as he braced himself on the overturned vehicle beside, climbing to his feet and stalking forward with teeth gritted in resistance to the pain of the stab wound in his side.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked as he removed his shield, adjusted its hold, and then slipped it onto his left forearm.

"The child is fine, but by herself and the power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable," Thor answered solemnly.

_"Thor's right, we've got to deal with these guys,"_  Tony contributed into their earpieces as he soared past overheard, their gazes following him.

_"Can I do something to help?"_  Primrose meekly asked, having finished the conversation with her mom and back to their communication station.

_"No! You stay put and out of sight!"_  Tony ordered quickly, leaving the other three look at each other apprehensively, but agreeing with Tony.

"We got this Prim," Natasha stated softly, shortening the girl's name for the first time, "How do we do this?" the redhead asked, turning to the Captain as behind her Clint gathered in his hands the shafts of the arrows he had been able to recover.

"As a team."

Primrose liked that, but she felt like an outsider as she heard their conversation.

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor asserted.

"Yeah? Well get in line," Clint drawled, staring firmly as he inspected the arrowheads in hand by touch.

"Save it," Steve ordered sharply, striding between the two's eye contact, "Loki's going to keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need – without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us to–" His arms that were raised in an indication of the genius' position abruptly dropped as he turned from the other three at Natasha and Thor's gazes over his should and at the sound of an engine.

His incredulous stare settled onto the slowly approaching form of Bruce, riding haltingly through the ruined street accompanied by the stuttering rumble of the borrowed motorcycle he sat on top of. They moved towards him, Clint inserting arrows into the hold of his quiver, as Bruce disembarked and met them halfway.

_"What's going on?"_  Primrose asked, wondering why Steve stopped mid-speech.

"Bruce is back," Natasha replied to her.

"So," he greeted hesitantly with spread hands before dropping them to rest alongside his thighs, "this all seems horrible."

"I've seen worse," Natasha commented with a brief glance over his form.

"Sorry," he replied, cringing.

"No, we could use a little worse," she admitted to his quirked eyebrow and nervous nod.

"Stark, we got him," Steve relayed.

_"Banner?"_

"Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up," he responded, their positions minute dots of scarlet on Park Avenue on his map of the city, "I'm bringing the party to you," the suit flew around the corner to the following enormous, soaring, shelled creature, its fins slicing through the windows and supports of the corner of the tall building it banked around.

Primrose could see it from up there, she gasped and leaned over the railing again, widening her eyes with shock at the beast chasing her dad. She groaned if only she could see what was happening down there better. Then as if someone heard her, she heard something slide on the floor towards her, and when she looked she saw a pair of Stark Glasses that her father used to zoom in on his robots to better view his work – she stared at them wide widely and looked around to see who had given them.

But no one was at sight.

Slightly shaken, she decided to grab them, put them on and turn back around to see what was happening while she heard them through the earpiece. She'd focus on figuring out what just happened later, right now she was too concerned over the people downstairs. Clicking on the buttons from the side of the glasses, the glassed area showed holograms of definitions and Primrose clicked on the zoom in button, stopping it when she was able to look at the group looking at her dad soaring towards them with the creature of his back.

It groaned as Thor snarled and readied Mjolnir, Natasha shaking her head and remarking, "I-I don't see how that's a party."

_"Me neither! Daddy what are you doing?!"_  Primrose squeaked out.

_"Don't worry!"_  Tony said quickly, and she was tired of people telling her that. How could she not worry?!

It roared as it trailed after Tony's fleeing flight, lowering to crash through the streetlights and abandoned vehicles lining the street. Iron Man whipped past as Bruce loosened his jaw and slowly turned to face the creature.

"Dr. Banner," Steve called, having taken a few steps back as if to follow, advising, "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Captain," he led over his shoulder as he walked before pausing and revealing, "I'm always angry."

He turned back to their foe while growing in size, lips twisting in anger as muscles smoothly bulged in transition, his skin darkening to green and fists clenching in anticipation. The Hulk stood three feet taller with jaw tensed in anger, throwing his fist forward to smash into the goliath beasts front teeth. The muzzle crumpled at the ferocity, though the Hulk's low stance was pushed back through the concrete as it slid forward, finally forcefully halting it with his increased efforts and ensuing roar. The momentum continued to propel the rest of the finned body up and over, its length gradually teetering to a vertical height that challenged the buildings on either side, and an imminent crash onto the Avengers gathered before it.

Primrose was jaw-slacked as she watched the whole ordeal – she was shaken by it.

"Hold on!" her dad shouted in her earpiece as he flew back to hover before the tail arched upward. He fired a missile into a bit of exposed flesh in front of him, the explosion tearing through the create as Clint knelt behind a car, Thor sunk lower and covered his head with an arm, and Steve crouched alongside Natasha as he held his shield protectively over their heads. The flames ripped the beast to pieces, metal and alien flesh raining down as its head was lobbed onto a lower road.

The Chitauri screeched from their perches, clinging to the sides of the high-rises they were attacking. Primrose looked around her, glaring at them as they twisted to brand their weapons and remove their metallic face guards to bare their teeth amidst their shrieking.

Primrose screamed too, but she was cheering for her dad and the Avengers as she looked at them again. The Hulk flexed the muscles along his arms and torso as he roared skyward in response, Iron Man spinning to hover closer to the ground behind as Hawkeye drew ad knocked an arrow, Thor at his side twirling Mjolnir in hand while Black Widow flanked him, reloading her gun. Captain America adjusted his shield as he observed the number of extraterrestrials he and his team were facing, Tony settling beside him.

The five heard Primrose cheer for them, and that gave them even more of a confidence boost.

And Primrose, throat hurting from cheering, looked at the group now formed with her glassed zoomed in on them – and she knew, she knew they were going to win if they stuck together.

Wrecked vehicles, taxis, and police cars were strewn about the streets as sirens and screams filled the air. Loki looked down from above in the intricate control seat of the hovercraft he had appropriated, commanding dispassionately, "Send the rest."


	27. A Promise - Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Sorry for the delay, a lot of things happened in my life! The last chapter of Avengers is here! Next, we depart to Iron Man 3 where I will explore the aftermath and the trauma that affected both Tony and Primrose. Poor Prim, she can't catch a break, amirite?
> 
> Transcript by 'archangelraphaelsdaughter' and movie belongs to Marvel!

 

 

 

Primrose didn't know why, but suddenly she heard more growling coming from above, and when she looked up more colossal shelled creatures streamed out of the portal above amidst more infantry. She screamed and ducked down, covering her head as if it would protect her.

Meanwhile, down there, the Avengers were starting to plan out their next moves. Steve had ordered Clint to stay on the roof of the building next to them and keep eyes on everything, like patterns and stray aliens. Then he told Tony to turn what gets more than three blocks out of the area into ash.

Tony had given a lift to Clint up the building before Steve continued, he told Thor to slow down everything that came out of the portal with his lightning, the God had nodded and leaped into the air to do as he was told. Then, he told Natasha that they'd stay on the ground and keep fighting there, and finally, he turned to the final member and told Hulk to smash. Leaving the green monster more than thrilled when he propelled himself into the air and slamming into one of the aliens anchored to a window.

While all this was happening, Primrose noticed Thor's red cap flapping behind him as he angled himself toward the tip of the Chrysler Building, she was startled when he drew lightning out of the dark clouds that had approached him and threw it at the portal, where two immense shelled creatures that were making their way into the sky creaked and groaned as their bodies were charred by Mjolnirs energy, they flinched backward and blocked the entrance to the others in their attempts to break away from the wracking pain.

Awed, Primrose couldn't help to stare at the scene, her Stark Glasses zooming in on the action.

_"Stark, you've got a lot of strays sniffing your tail,"_ she suddenly heard Clint call out through her earpiece. Concerned, her attention was now set on finding her father, and when she found him Iron Man was whipping high above a street from the buildings on one side to the other, aliens indeed close in pursuit.

_"Just trying to keep them off the streets and far from the tower,"_ he answered tensely while darting a quick glance at the number of heat signatures following as he steered.

"How about you keep them off you?" Primrose deadpanned.

Clint smirked, _"I think your kid is right. And they can't bank worth a damn,"_ he noted.

"Swear," Primrose quickly said.

_"Sorry,"_  the archer told her, swiftly drawing an arrow as a hoverboard flew past him, he shot to his right outside his peripheral to annihilate the following craft as he continued to eye Iron Man,  _"Find a tight corner,"_  he suggested.

Primrose landed her eyes on Clint and saw him drop to one knee as he held an arrow knocked, he tracked the group of Chitauri through the air with its tip before releasing. Primrose follow the arrow and the shaft struck the center of one of the crafts, end glowing, and the metal impacted quickly turned molten, spreading upwards to liquefy the entire joint section. The board fell into two pieces that flung the extraterrestrials through the air to crash into the side of a high-rise as her dad leaped up to blast the other leading couple with a repulsor. He veered to avoid the collision with the ground as well as the pursuing aliens' beams blasting the abandoned vehicles in lines below before direction the suit into the low entrance of an above ground parking garage – Primrose didn't like when he was out of sight.

"Your arrows are pretty cool, Mr. Barton," she complimented the archer, finding what she just witnessed amazing.

_"Thanks, kid, you okay?"_  Clint asked.

"Yep! Just don't get hurt, okay? I wanna meet you after this!"

_"Sorry to interrupt but nice call back there Barton, what else you got?"_ Tony suddenly interrupted. She smiled, happy to hear that he was fine.

_"Well, Thor's taking on a squadron down on sixth,"_  Clint reported.

_"And he didn't invite me,"_  her dad rebuked, making Primrose roll her eyes.

On the ground, Natasha was thrown onto her back on the hood of a car by a Chitauri before it moved her with its staff. She jerked her torso out of the way to leave the weapon impaled in the metal as she heaved a leg over its shoulder to draw it closer, grasping her ankle with a grunt to maintain her told and drawing herself up to tase its neck with the bracelet on her right wrist. She fell back and released it as it swayed, stunned, before ripping the staff beside her out of eh vehicle and flipping it around to shoot the alien in the chest with a gasp. She swung around with the weapon readied fo face Steve having leaped over a low wall.

He held his shield up before she righted the shaft, panting with blood trickling from her temple and smearing her bottom lip, then he lowered her as he approached with a glance at their momentarily safe surroundings, "Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal," she remarked, turning to gaze at it. She also wondered how Primrose was, up there and by herself.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it," he responded as he followed her stare.

Primrose's frowned as she heard them, Steve was right. The portal was something that no human has ever seen, weapons to destroy such thing have not been invented yet, "Maybe it's not about guns!" she remembers watching 'Planet Treasure' and the only way Jim closed the portal that was about to explode and change into another that they could've escaped was to press the button on the panel that opened the explosive portal, "Maybe it's about destroying it from its source?" she suggested shyly.

There was a pregnant pause on the other side, and for a moment Primrose regretted voicing her thoughts, thinking that what she said was too stupid that stunned the Avengers.

"That might work," Natasha quickly said, "Good idea Prim,"

"You heard my kid, get to it," Tony piped in quite happily.

Steve nodded, "Okay," he darted a glance at Natasha before noting a passing hovercraft and the two opponents it dropped, as well as the several having started to advance over the debris, "If you want to get up there you're going to need a ride."

Her eyes hardened as she tossed the Chitauri staff away, "I got a ride," she answered. He looked up as she stepped away with determination, noting the alien crafts constantly sailing over their heads, "Could use the boost though," she suggested over her shoulder, and he stepped back to maximize the distance between them.

Primrose frowned at what Natasha was implying, she used her glasses and gulped down nervously, too anxious to say a word.

"Are you sure about this?" Steve asked, deepening his stance and bracing his shield in front of him.

"Yeah," she relayed in hesitation, voice cracking slightly as she glanced upwards for timing, "It's going to be fun."

"Be careful Ms. Romanoff," Primrose voiced out, sounding afraid for her but finding her bravery very inspiring.

"I will," the redhead said before she abruptly ran forward with long strides and vaulted off the hood of the car beside the Captain, he sunk into a lunge before tucking into a ball and planting both feet solidly on the shield being raised. He drove her into the air to her straightening and grabbing hold of the underside of a passing craft, soaring away as a blue ray charred the face of his shield, his attention turning to a group of adversaries as he lowered his guard and weapon to confront them.

* * *

Primrose didn't know where to look at, but as time passed she found herself freaking out even more about the chaos around her getting worst. She had heard the Hulk's roars echoing from somewhere, the team and her dad talking to each other from her own earpiece and she was doing her best to try and find someone through the Stark Glasses – but she only had eyes on Clint and occasionally Natasha who was currently taking over an alien hovercraft.

"Hey! Little girl!"

Blinking, she looked up at the roof and her mouth fell agape at the sight of Erik Selvig, he looked confused and hurt. Blood trickled from his forehead, his eyes shifting to take in his surroundings in confusing before he began to gape in awe of the stream leading up to the portal. He gaped with furrowed brows as he panted, leaning back heavily on the wall along the edge of the building.

"Dr. Selvig?" she yelled at him, the distance between them was a little far.

"Who are you? Are you okay?" he quickly questioned, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Me? I'm fine! Are you still under the gem's control?" she asked him, covering her eyes from the sun to be able to look up properly.

"Gem?" then a realization look came into his expression, "Loki!"

Before she could reply to him, she heard Natasha's distress call for Clint, she looked back and tried to see where she was.

_"Uh, a little help!"_ she cried, and Primrose gasped when she finally noticed the agent flying about on the hovercraft, rays skimming the side of her board.

Loki was right behind her, "Ms. Romanoff!" the ten-year-old whined.

_"I got him,"_  Clint suddenly assured.

The shaft sped through the air above his upright stance on the corner, tearing over the distance until its middle was caught abruptly by Loki's fingers curled around it. Primrose frowned, but couldn't help to think about what a good catch that had been. Then suddenly, as Loki was giving Clint an amused smirk, the arrowhead exploded right on his face.

Primrose squealed when she saw Loki behind thrown head over heels from the ruined aircraft, before running back inside with panic she saw it tumble down and knock the 'T' from the remaining letters labeling Stark Tower – but she didn't stick around to see it fall when Loki was sent to roll with a sharp groan across the balcony where she once stood, his helmet was flung from his head and she saw it land somewhere.

When inside, she quickly hid behind the bar again, her breathing fast.

_"Kid! I'm sorry I didn't mean to send him to you! Are you okay?"_  Clint suddenly, and quickly asked. His tone was sort of harsh but not because he was angry at her, but because he was mentally punching himself for sending that creep towards the kid.

"I'm okay! I'm hiding!" she responded, peeking from the corner of the bar to see Loki stand up on the balcony.

_"Stay hidden, I'm already on the roof with Selvig,"_  Natasha declared, sounding like she just ran a marathon.

_"Can anyone go get Loki? You know, THE CRAZY ASSHOLE WHO IS ALONE WITH MY KID?"_  Primrose cringed when her dad yelled on the earpiece, but he was right, Loki must've seen her run inside and she didn't get very far.

The God was already glaring inside, his manic and blue hazed eyes searching for the girl, and Primrose was certain he'd find her quickly, but after hearing a roar coming from behind Loki, Primrose gasped loudly when she saw the Hulk fly towards him from another building. The green goliath crashed into him with a roar, the large window splintering upon impact and Primrose saw Loki being thrown with a grunt into the wall right in front of the bar – where Loki landed.

Primrose watched with widened eyes about how close the two were, she thought about crawling away but fear kept her from moving, she couldn't even tell her dad that Loki and the Hulk were in the same room as she was.

She saw Loki throw his cape back over his shoulder as he braced himself on his elbows as the Hulk pounded his fists on the tiled floor twice with a huff, tossing his head before charging. Primrose braced herself when the mischievous God interrupted the whole ordeal.

"Enough!" Loki screamed as he vaulted to his feet, "You are all of you beneath me!" Primrose's mouth was agape when even the Hulk paused and tilted his head at the other continued, decisively, "I am a God, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by–AH!"

Primrose squeaked when the Hulk had resolutely leaned forward and snatched Loki's left lower leg, slamming him into the floor on his other side before shattering the tile at his feet with two more collisions with the flooring. He held the limp, stunned trickster upside down above his shoulder for a second before smashing him down once more in front of him, and then throwing him to the side. Loki stared at the ceiling with glazed, wide eyes as he lay panting in the crater his body had been used to create.

Primrose winced, she actually felt bad for Loki but was surprised to see him still alive. However, her wince brought the Hulk's attention to her and when the green monster advanced towards the bar she rose up from it and walked backward with her arms in front of her as a protective manner.

"No no! Please don't hurt me Mr. Hulk! I'm not bad!" she begged, with tears in her eyes. Seeing in face to face was a new experience, it was so surreal and frightening and he was much taller than he looked.

The Hulk stopped his tracks and gave the little girl a shocked look, "Girl!" he shouted, surprised, "Not bad!" he nodded before approaching her, he pointed at a pained Loki, "BAD!" he told her as he watched her look at his enemy.

Primrose nodded quickly, fearing if she said the wrong thing she might be tossed around as well, "Bad God! Yes, I know! Good job Mr. Hulk, you saved me!" she praised quickly, wanting to please him.

"HM!" Hulk nodded again, before starting to stomp away with a parting rumble over his shoulder, "Puny God,"

Primrose watched eye widened as the green beast hooped out of the building into another one, and a relieved breath finally came out of her.

"Loki is down, the Hulk took care of him," she said as she held her earpiece close to her ear. The brunette began approaching Loki, she heard him whine in pain as he remained still, "Yikes, he's in really bad shape. But alive."

" _Are you okay?"_  Tony asked, a certain panic to his tone since his daughter just witnessed the Hulk going rampage.

"I'm fine, just scared. Mr. Hulk is very tall," she stated as she sat down on the stairs next to Loki.

_"Okay, just stay where you are. Since Loki is down this might be easier then,"_  her dad stated.

Loki groaned again, and Primrose sighed before saying, "I told you so."

The God managed to roll his eyes.

_"Prim! I need you to do me a favor!"_  Natasha suddenly said,  _"Loki's scepter is right outside, where you were on the balcony, I need you to bring it to me. You were right, we can close the portal but we need it!"_

She was up on her feet right away and running outside with a determined expression, "I'm on it!"

_"No, you're not!"_  Tony quickly warned.

"Dad, it's fine!" Primrose retorted as she spotted the referenced weapon lying abandoned on the balcony floor, "I got it, Ms. Romanoff!" she looked up at the roof to see Selvig and Natasha looking down at her.

_"Primrose! Don't touch it!"_

"Dad–"

_"Listen to me, it might shoot without you even meaning it–"_

"Dad I got this–" she stubbornly insisted as she ran back inside, towards the exit door that led to the roof.

_"NO! YOU DON'T! YOU'RE JUST A KID, YOU–"_

Primrose gritted her teeth as she began climbing the stairs to the roof, "DAD! LISTEN TO ME! THERE'S NO TIME TO DECIDE IF I'M A KID OR NOT BECAUSE IF WE DON'T CLOSE THE PORTAL – WE WILL ALL DIE!" she yelled out of frustration.

There was a pregnant pause as she continued to ascend the stairs, the mood was almost awkward as Primrose realized that everyone had heard their argument.

"Dad, I'm..." she began, more calmly, as she reached the door to the roof.

_"No, don't apologize. You're right,"_  her dad sounded defeated, she didn't like hearing him like this,  _"It's just... I can't lose you."_

"You won't," Primrose quickly stated firmly as she approached Natasha and Selvig. She had to admit that seeing the portal's ray from the roof was a bit eerie but she ignored it as she handed the scepter to Natasha.

The redhead smiled at her, "Good job, kid."

_"Watch over her, Romanoff,"_  Tony said through the earpiece.

"I got her, Stark," Natasha replied instantly.

_"The young Stark is correct, she is capable,"_  Thor suddenly cut in, he was grunting so he must've been mid-fight. That comment made Primrose blush a little from embarrassment, she was reminded again that everyone had indeed, heard the argument.

_"Yeah I mean, she was alone with that creep and managed to come out of it alive,"_  Clint butted in, deciding to use a comical tone to lighten the mood up.

Primrose giggled, she really wanted to meet Hawkeye. Hearing her laugh made the participants of the conversation smile.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tony soared under the dissolution and followed alongside its flight, holding out his left fist and firing a steady tri-beamed laser from the paneling of his forearm at its considerable length.

_"Sir, we will lose power before we penetrate that shell,"_  JARVIS informed pragmatically, the lasers powered down and the suit streaking ahead.

The creature bent lower as it flew to crash through the roof of a lowe building as it trailed Iron Man, "JARVIS you ever hear the tale of Jonah?" he proposed hesitantly as he distanced himself.

_"I wouldn't consider him a role model,"_ the AI replied in disinclination.

_"Daddy, what are you gonna do?"_ Primrose asked with a suspicious tone, and Tony couldn't help to smirk a little inside his helmet.

"Something silly," he replied as he sailed towards the creature, its maw opening wide as it groaned while the suit flew into it. Primrose heard her dad yell as he traveled through the alien's inwards, projectiles shooting outwards and wracking the beast's frame with explosions that ripped through its flesh and mangled its shelled, metal casing. Tony was thrown outwards as the tail end was severed from the rest of the body, the suit tumbling through the air to crash through a bus stop before halting with the impact to an abandoned taxi, rolling to lie on his stomach on the concrete. He squinted his eyes as his HUD graphics recalibrated and he climbed to his feet in front of 'Farmers Insurance Group', advertising, 'We are insurance, we are Farmers', and 'Shawarma Palace'.

_"Daddy, are you okay?"_ Primrose asked worriedly.

Before he could reply, he flinched at a beam fired at his chest before raising his arms in attempting to guard himself as another two shots were fired to throw him back into 'Southwest Airlines' and 'Metro' advertisements. A Chitauri squadron advanced towards him.

_"Dad?!"_  He heard Primrose again, sounding more frantic.

"I'm f–fine, I'm okay honey," he told her weakly, fighting back any alien in his way.

Primrose tried to look for him from the rooftop, but her dad was out of sight.

_"Stark, do you hear me? You have a missile headed straight for the city,"_ Nick Fury suddenly warned him through his own Bluetooth.

"How long?" Tony asked in fright as he tried to lift himself onto all fours, one of the aliens surrounding him knocking his head into the ground with the butt of its staff.

_"Three minutes, max. The payload will wipe out Midtown,"_  Nick explained as Tony's HUD flickered.

He shot repulsor blasts haphazardly at the numbers around him, managing to raise himself onto one knee as he commanded, "JARVIS put everything we got into the thrusters!"

_"I just did."_

The suit blasted out from under an alien who threw itself on top of him in attack, Iron Man's twin thrusters on the bottoms of his boots and on his back propelled him away from the street to the loss of the Chitauri hanging his leg. With a tail of sparks, he swung around the corner of a building.

On the roof of the Tower, Primrose watched the skies with a bad feeling creeping onto her spine. Behind her, Erik righted a fallen control pedestal, the monitor of the connected laptop topping it lifted to display some aspects of the device before them.

He leaned around the machine to indicate a direction to Natasha with an index finger, "Right at the crown," he stated.

Primrose turned around, watching Natasha as she held the scepter firmly, the blade at the tip breaching the translucent sphere that formed in defense. The gem embedded in its head glowed brightly as wisps of dark smoke breezed from the point of entry, Natasha gasped and Primrose took a small step back in surprise as the redhead held the weapon steadfast, "I can close it! Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."

_"Do it!"_  Primrose heard Steve answer.

_"No, wait!"_  Tony suddenly protested.

_"Stark, these things are still coming,"_  the Captain argued as he gazed up, incredulous. Primrose couldn't help but agreed, she was looking at the skies with a confused expression.

_"I got a nuke coming in,"_ Tony answered, his voice tight,  _"It's gonna blow in less than a minute,"_  he sailed beneath the Verranazo-Narrows Bridge to abruptly raise his hands and use the repulsors to halt his momentum over the water in a spray of the substance, the missile soaring overheard to his flying up and curving over the crossing to trail it.

"N-Nuke?!" Primrose uttered out, completely shocked, "Where did it come from?!" she exclaimed, "What are you gonna do with it?!"

_"D-Don't worry honey, I know just where to put it,"_  he declared, his voice sounded completely miserable, Primrose felt like she heard a sob mid-talk.

"D-Daddy?" she whispered, fearfully.

_"Stark,"_  Steve began solemnly, knowing that Primrose was hearing him,  _"You know that's a one-way trip."_

"Save the rest for the turn, J," Tony weakly instructed JARVIS, trying to block his daughter's cries from his ears.

_"Sir,"_  JARVIS responded tentatively,  _"Shall I try Ms. Potts and Ms. Evans?"_

"Daddy! Why aren't you answering me?!" his daughter's cries were making Tony's brown eyes wetter by the second, he felt a lump in his throat and it was getting hard to breathe.

"Might as well," he stared at the display pictures of the two women as the AI brought his cellphone capabilities up on the HUD inside his helmet. The status of the connection switched to 'Calling'.

* * *

Emma had stopped at a gas station to re-fill her car, she was an hour away from the city but she was stuck inside the station while waiting to pay for her pump, watching the news on the television about the invasion in New York City. Her phone – left inside the car – vibrated as Tony was trying to contact her. Her widened eyes could only think about her little girl in the middle of that chaos, she had to get there as fast as she could!

A white jet with Stark Industries emblazoned on the side soared through the scattered white clouds, ten miles away. Pepper was sitting inside with two coworkers, and all their attention was riveted on a television screen, a female reporting announcing what was currently happening in the streets of New York City as videos of the invasion captured were shown. Pepper's cell was lying on the wooden lip along the side of the interior under the windows, an incoming call displaying the picture of Tony as the phone vibrated.

* * *

Smoke trailed the canister from Iron Man's thruster's path, the call to Pepper and Emma continuing to try and connect in the corner of the HUD as Tony focused on directing the nuke between the high-rises and towards his tower in the distance.

"DADDY!" Primrose sobbed out as she spotted him approaching with the nuke, Natasha instantly pulled the little girl to herself, shielding her.

_"Sir, I advise you to talk with your daughter,"_  JARVIS stated, sounding mildly sad.

_"Primrose listen to me, honey, I love you so much. I love you and I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry honey. I'm saving you, I'm saving everyone. I want you to continue living,"_  Tony suddenly started blabbering, sobbing as well. Natasha, Erik, and Primrose whipped their heads up as Tony clipped the edge of the building to continue on, his flight following the beam emitted by the Cube as Chitauri ships streaked downwards,  _"I want you to grow up happy, loving life and never blame yourself for anything that I di–"_

"SHUT UP DADDY! SHUT UP AND COME BACK!" Primrose interrupted him, struggling against Natasha as she followed Iron Man with her teary, widened eyes.

The whole Avengers heard them with sad expressions, Thor almost wanted to go up there himself and stop Tony, but that would mean an explosion that would destroy thousands of lives. He hated this. No child show grow up with a father. This was all Loki's fault... Thor scowled angrily at the skies.

_"I love you, you were the best thing that happened to me,"_  Tony whispered lovingly, nearing the gathered clouds and excess energy created by the portal before passing over the threshold with the missile.

"DADDY! I LOVE YOU TOO! DON'T LEAVE ME PLE–" her screaming was interrupted as if someone had grabbed hold of her throat and started choking her.

Her dad was gone.

"DADDY!" Primrose screamed with horror, then she began sobbing, "I c-can't breathe!" she cried as she felt a large lump in her throat, "W-Where is he?!" she turned to Natasha, "WHERE?"

The agent could only look down at her with pitiful eyes, "Oh Prim" she sighed, reaching to pat her head.

She didn't want pity, she wanted answers! Growling out of frustration, Primrose pushed Natasha's comforting hand away to stare up at the sky, waiting.

_"Come on, Stark,"_  Steve beckoned.

The echoes of the muffled explosion sounded through the gateway, Thor averting his stare to the ground before casting his eyes onto the Captain beside him. Steve gazed up at the nearing blast and sighed, "I'm sorry Primrose," he took a deep breath, realizing that what he was about to order was going to make a little girl fatherless, "Close it," he ordered Natasha.

"NO!" Primrose cried at once, still staring at the hole in the sky, "Wait! Please!" she begged.

Natasha frowned sadly and turned to the device, she hesitated before forcing the scepter further with a grunt, the tip and gem sparkling as they touched the top surface of the Tesseract. The ray disconnected from the machinery on the roof and streaked heavenward before joining with the remaining energy of the portal, the entrance into space beginning to shrink. It collapsed inwards to Steve bowing his head, full of remorse, wisps of dark blue and azure crashing together and rolling in like the tide to close.

"Please... please..." Primrose whispered to herself, watching the hole attentively and rubbing the tears away from her vision.

Then, Tony Stark emerged from the pale blue sky, just as the portal closed.

Natasha released trembling breaths as Steve uttered in relief, "Son of a gun."

"DADDY!" Primrose cheered, her sad tears turned into joyful ones as a bright grin showed on her lips.

However, her smile quickly dropped when she realized her dad was plunging without resistance through the still air, drawing closer and closer to the roofs of the structures below.

"He's not slowing down!" Thor stated as he started to spin Mjolnir by the strap of the handle as he and Steve stared upwards.

"SOMEONE CATCH HIM!" Primrose exclaimed as she followed her dad's limp body falling quickly.

But then the Hulk hurled himself across the space between the buildings and caught Tony with an arm around his torso. He slid down the side of the opposite high-rise with his other hand slowing them by the drag through the concrete and glass of its makeup, before he launched them to the street. He spun so to land on his back on a taxi and then through the rubble coating the surface of the road, clasping Tony to his chest.

"Thank you!" Primrose laughed and cried at the same time.

The Hulk grunted as he lifted his head to note the suit he was holding, and then flipped Tony off of him to the ground beside. Thor and Steve jogged around vehicles to the landing, the God handing his hammer into his left hand as he crouched at his side and rolled him over, the Hulk tense with his fists down across Tony's prone form.

"Is he breathing?" Steve asked in panic, wanting nothing more than for Tony to wake up and bring relief to his daughter.

Primrose kneeled down on the edge of the roof and used her Stark Glasses, zooming in on the group.

Thor hurriedly ripped the faceplate from the helmet and threw it away. He stood helpless, thinking that right now a little girl deserved to grow up with her dad, "Stark, wake up! Your daughter needs you!" he shouted.

Steve bent over to hold his ear over Tony's mouth, then he leaned back at the lack of inhalation as the Hulk raised a fist in yearning of a solution that he could achieve. Steve's gloved hand lowered slightly down the chest plate in consideration of their options, suddenly realizing the absence of light emitting from the arc reactor in his chest cavity.

_"Is he okay?"_  Primrose asked meekly, making every man down there tense up.

Tony's expression was serene as he lay quietly in his suit, the blondes remaining motionless at his side, scared to answer Primrose's question, at the facts presented. The Hulk stood panting in aggravation, eyes shifting from side to side in thought as he glanced at the other two before observing their surrender.

_**LITTLE GIRL NEEDS STARK!  
Primrose needs Tony!** _

He turned back to Tony and unexpectedly roared down at the martyr's prone form.

Tony gasped into consciousness, the Hulk bellowing his triumph to the skies as Steve's eyes widened, leaning closer in disbelief – the arc glowed blue!

"He's alive!" Steve announced, mostly to Primrose.

And Natasha had to catch the ten-year-old before she fell down after her knee strength gave up on her – she was crying, because she was emotionally tired and relieved to beyond.

"What the hell?!" the genius gasped out.

Thor gazed down with furrowed brows before he smirked in relief, "He lives."

"What just happened?" Tony reiterated before fully taking in the three surrounding him, "Please tell me nobody kissed me," he implored.

Primrose laughed, he was definitely alive.

The Captain breathed heavily as he lifted his stare to the middle-distance and the smoking wreck of cars and buildings, and the limp corpses of grey-skinned being and leviathans. He nodded his head a few times before asserting the situation with a decisive nod, "We won," he stated.

Tony sighed before acknowledging, "Alright, yay," he cheered weakly, "Hurray! Good job guys. Uh, let's just not come in tomorrow. I need to take a day off and hug my daughter forever," he suggested as he shifted gingerly, "You ever tried shawarma?" he asked to Steve's indulgent smile and charmed shake of his head, "There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here – I don't know what it is, Prim, you wanna try it too, honey?"

It was the first time her dad was talking with her since he said goodbye, and Primrose couldn't help but choke out,  _"Yes daddy, I want to."_

Hearing her voice brought color back to his face.

"We're not finished yet," Thor interjected.

Steve turned to glance up at him and Tony's expression shifted into one of concession.

"And then shawarma after," he insisted hopefully.

* * *

Loki's breathing was labored as he dragged himself up the few steps that covered in glittering glass, groaning in pain as he braced his torso above the surface with his elbows. He lifted his head with a sigh at the attempted transition to seated before pausing, his eyes shifting from a pair of shoes that belonged to a child to upwards where he met eyes with Primrose Evans- Stark, looking down at him with a scowl on her face.

"Behind you, Mr. Loki," she stated, mocking the 'mister' word.

His eyes widened as he panted while twisting to view the area behind him.

Tony stood on the far left with his chin lifted, armor dented and scratched with his helmet absent while the arc reactor shone brightly in the center of his chest, the Hulk primed for battle with eyes dark behind him, Captain America deprived of cowl staring down at the God of Mischief with shield held in his right hand at the center. Clint knelt close as he raised his bow crosswise and pulled back a knocked arrow, Thor behind him with blood-spattered Mjolnir in hand, and Natasha on the far right with scepter grasped firmly.

Loki gaped at the sight with cuts on his forehead, brow, bridge of his nose, chin and armor covered in dust before lowering his head, "If it's all the same to you," he began as he delicately turned so to use his arms on the row of stairs behind to brace himself as he sighed, "I'll have that drink now," he proposed beseechingly.

No one said a thing, they were all glaring at Loki while Tony rolled his eyes.

"I told you they were gonna kick your butt," Primrose said as she descended the steps to stand next to her dad, she had a cocky expression on her face, looking at Loki with a smug smirk, "I told you that my dad was going to kick your butt."

* * *

**_May 5th, 2012_ **

It all seemed like a dream, but Primrose could still feel her heart hammering loudly on her chest from all the adrenaline she experienced yesterday.

She barely slept, and the hours she did was when Tony had his arms around her. They both slept on the same bed, clinging to each other as her dad muttered words of comfort. The other Avengers slept in the tower as well, randomly in the different suites that existed – with Loki being held in a cell that was practically being watched non-stop by JARVIS.

Primrose could not forget yesterday's trip to the shawarma place her dad talked about, between the awkward silence and the quiet eating, she had no idea if she even enjoyed the food or not. Maybe her dad just wanted to take a breath after almost dying.

Her mom was not able to get inside the city until after midnight, where it was safe to get inside and get out. Immediately, Emma went straight to the Tower but wasn't able to reunite with her daughter since she had fallen asleep – only to a few hours later to wake up from a nightmare of her dad flying into space and not coming back.

Emma met everyone as well, she blushed when Thor kissed her knuckles. Then, she asked Tony if he was okay, knowing that he almost died sacrificing himself – he said he was fine but his body language said otherwise. Deciding to bring that topic later, Emma asked about Rhodey. She hadn't been able to reach him. While the two were alone in the lounge area and everyone was in their rooms, Tony told her that Rhodey had been busy in Hong Kong but that he was almost arriving back to America.

The blonde was relieved, but quickly shut Tony up when he teased her about her feelings for Primrose's godfather.

When Emma finally went to sleep, minutes later, Primrose showed up at her dad's room. She didn't know her mom was in the tower and she had woken up from a nightmare so going to her dad's suite was an instant direction she took.

The morning after, Emma and Primrose properly hugged each other. Steve having finally met Primrose's mother had been an awkward situation because even though Tony told him he wasn't together with the girl's mom it was still a little odd to witness their relationship – it was an experience and it taught Steve that in this century no one cared that much.

When it was time to send Thor, Loki, and the Tesseract back to Asgard, Primrose stayed in the tower with her mom. She gave a big hug to Thor and the God responded with a bear one, then she bid an almost awkward but cute farewell to Steve, who ruffled her hair and told her she had spike inside her.

Then when she said goodbye to Natasha, the redhead patted her head and told her that one day she had to show her karate skills – to that Primrose promised to continue training harder then, if she was going to spar with a trained agent she better work hard.

Saying goodbye to Clint had been quick, but the comfortable. He just smiled down at her and she smiled back, then she called him cool and he called her dope. That was it – the two then fist-bumped and he left.

Bruce was already gone, but her dad told her not to worry about it before leaving as well, giving her forehead a peck.

Primrose looked at the city through the floor-to-ceiling windows of her bedroom, she could not believe it that yesterday the view was chaotic instead of peaceful. The news channels have been going insane with content was lasted all day and night, the public was torn between being thankful for the Avengers of anti, thinking that they caused as much destruction as the Chitauri and that they should be punished for it.

Her dad was already donating money and helping re-build the city, Primrose wondered what more did they want? The Avengers saved the world – she frowned at how ungrateful sometimes people could be.

Her dad almost died! Again!

Emma told her daughter that in the world there will always be people that don't agree with was is normalized.

While the Avengers were out, Rhodey arrived at the tower and briefly shared a hug that lasted longer than it needed with Emma. Primrose watched from the sideline, waiting for her turn to hug her godfather, as her mom and he shared an intense stare before the cleaning of her throat brought them back.

Rhodey hugged his goddaughter tightly, apologizing for not being able to be here and protect her. Primrose didn't even know she had to forgive him, he was on his own mission so it wasn't his fault.

When her dad returned with Bruce, Primrose was happy that he was staying with them for a while. Over dinner, she had told Bruce about how the Hulk rescued her from Loki and that they had a short conversation – that startled everyone, Emma had choked on her drink.

Primrose assured that the big, green guy never harmed her, and Bruce explained that the Hulk had a soft spot for children.

When Bruce went to rest and Rhodey and Emma disappeared to somewhere, Primrose, Pepper, and Tony were up and in front of the computer her dad had previously watched the footage about the Avengers Initiative. Tony unrolled a computerized, interactive blueprint of his properties and browsed through the floor plans of the Tower as Pepper held a palm over the two-dimensional ground space, raising the dozens of floors of its construction. The billionaire stepped to her from the bar as he took a sip of a drink he had prepared, while Primrose sipped from her Capri Sun while she looked at the Tower.

He set it off to the side as he idly spun the hologram, pressing a finger thoughtfully to his mouth before he rested the hand on his hip. Pepper swept the top half of it off to his additional removal of some of the bracing architecture of the side before dismissing the entirety of the original design.

"Avengers Tower?" Primrose mumbled in awe, "I like it"

Pepper and Tony both smiled at the ten-year-old before they looked at each other and shared a kiss amidst the plastic tarps, spotlights, paint cans, and ladders of the rebuild.

It was a happy moment, and Primrose decided to avert her eyes away towards the night sky to give them some privacy. And as she looked up at the starry sky, she couldn't help but to drop her smile to stare intently at it – space no longer seemed fascinating to her, but scary. She felt that something worst than the Chitauri or Loki was up there, waiting and watching.

If this was a video game, then Primrose would call it the final boss – but this was real life, and maybe she didn't want to be a space pirate anymore.


	28. Ice Cream at 3AM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think I might start Iron Man 3 after another filler chapter! We'll see, I hope you enjoy this one.
> 
> Thank you so much for the kind reviews! It seems like some of you were expecting little Prim to wield Mjolnir, and that would be cool, wouldn't it? :)

_**May 6th, 2012**  
**Sunday** _

**_3:11 AM_ **

Nothing could seem to cheer Primrose up since her dad told her the unfortunate news about Phil Coulson's death.

When she met him back when she was seven years old she didn't think much of him, to her he was just a stranger that wanted to speak to her dad. But then things changed when her dad became Iron Man, Obadiah tried to kill him and the world know new that Tony Stark was Iron Man. Ever since those events, Phil Coulson has been in and out of her life per SHIELD's orders. As the years passed, she still didn't seem him regularly, maybe even only thrice a year – but that didn't mean the two weren't able to speak with each other. And then she saw him again, four days ago, and it was fine. Everything was good, he even gave her a few copies of his precious Captain America vintage cards collection – which Primrose now resented for never asking Steve to sign them – and for a moment, the little girl was happy to see him again.

But then Loki killed him, and Phil Coulson was gone.

Did she cry? Yes, she dropped some tears for the agent. He was too young to die, and there was that cellist he never got to experience romance with.

Her dad and her mom hugged her for five minutes when Tony told her the news, even Emma seemed to be upset about the sudden death of the agent. Primrose was a very emotional girl, she cried for ten minutes when she watched 'The Lion King', but this wasn't a movie, a real person that she met and knew died.

And that makes Primrose think, for the first time, about death.

She began realizing that her parents weren't going to live forever and that they were going to die before her. That led to a nightmare about her standing in front of everyone's graves. Wherever she looked, she would see everyone's names marked on the graves, her dad, her mom, her godparents, and the Avengers – even Nick Fury and Hanae were there.

Strangely, Phil Coulson's wasn't. His grave was the only one missing.

And then the cemetery around her became dark as if a large cloud had stood above it. And when she looked up, Primrose screamed at the sight of one of those giant beasts coming out of a portal in the sky and diving straight at her – with Loki's laughter echoing everywhere.

She tried to run but suddenly, right in front of her, she saw her own grave, with an empty hole in front of it, and she felt someone push her into the darkness of it from behind.

The nightmare woke her up from sheer terror and Primrose basically jumped on her bed with a small gasp. She looked around, and even though she relaxed slightly when she realized she was inside her bedroom in Stark Tower her eyes still seemed widened as she reached for the cup of glass on her nightstand.

 _"Ms. Evans-Stark, you seem to be having a mild panic-attack, would you like me to call someone?"_  JARVIS asked.

"No, uncle JARVIS, I'm okay!" she quickly told the A.I., even going far to reassure him by using his pet name.

As she sipped from her cup, he continued,  _"If you're so sure. But I'd advise trying to control your breathing to avoid an asthma attack._ "

"I took my medication, I'll be fine. But thanks for caring," she told JARVIS with a smile.

_"Always."_

Placing the now half-empty cup back on her nightstand, Primrose turned on her lamp and got out of her bed. She then walked towards her floor-to-ceiling windows and stared at the city below. Even when it was the middle of the night, New York City was alive and shining. She looked up and even though the light pollution didn't allow her to see the starry night sky she still shuddered as flashes of the portal being open in the blue sky came across her mind.

Whining, she turned her back from the windows and stalked towards her door. Now outside, she sighed heavily as she decided where to go now, Primrose wasn't feeling tired so she decided to go to the kitchen to eat a snack – maybe she could go grab her laptop and play The Sims 3 to pass time.

As she arrived at the kitchen area, she was surprised to see the LED lights that surrounded the counters of the massive kitchen turned on. Then she spotted her dad, sitting by the island with a bowl in front of him. Primrose didn't know what he was eating, he kept poking it with his spoon and his expression was tired and stoic – it seemed like he was in deep thinking.

She frowned as she approached him, "Dad?" she called with a whisper, the bedrooms were far away from the kitchen but Primrose mentally wanted to be as quiet as she could, not to startle her dad.

But Tony's shoulders jumped and looked at her eye-wide, like a deer caught in headlights, "Prim?!" he exclaimed, surprised, "Honey, what are you doing up?" he calmed down his voice into a whispering tone as well.

Primrose inhaled through her nose and gave him a sad expression as she approached him, "I had a nightmare," she admitted quickly, used to not keeping any secrets from her dad. As Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes at her answer, Primrose used the stool next to her father's to climb up onto the counter, and then she sat down and looked at his bowl, "We have ice cream?" she meekly asked, her tone implying she wanted some.

He stared at her, part of Tony wanted to pry more about her nightmare but the other part knew she was changing the subject for a reason, he smirked at the thought, "God, sometimes you act like me. It's scary," he grabbed his spoon and placed some of the chocolate ice cream on it.

Primrose looked confused but she opened her mouth when her dad fed her the cold, sweet treat, "Scary?" she managed to ask as the ice cream melted on her mouth.

He tilted his head and gave her a lop-sided smile, "Yes. I want you to be better than me," he stated, putting some more ice cream on the spoon and eating it this time.

Primrose looked at him affronted, "Daddy, I hate when you talk about yourself like that. I wish I was like you dad, you're smart, brave and you're my hero," she accepted another spoonful of ice cream that Tony led to her mouth.

"Thank you, honey. You're so kind, so smart too. There's no doubt, I couldn't have a better daughter like you," he sighed happily as he brushed his free hand on her silky, brown hair, "I'm sorry dad said those things, I'm tired. I couldn't sleep either."

"What happened?" she asked, licking the chocolate from the corner of her lips.

He stared at her for what seemed a long time before finally answered with a sad smile, "I also had a nightmare."

She immediately hugged him, and Tony dropped the spoon inside the bowl to instantly hold her. He squeezed her tightly but Primrose didn't complain.

"About what?" she asked with a quiet voice.

"Nu-uh, you tell me yours and I'll tell you mine," he whispered, taking in the scent of her hair and closing his eyes to better focus on her touch and voice.

Now hiding her face on his chest, Primrose felt more confident in confessing about her nightmare. She told him about the cemetery, the graves, the portal, and the beast – but she kept seeing her own grave to herself. Tony saw through the hesitation but he decided not to push her to tell him, thinking she'd say it when she was ready.

"I'm so sorry honey, it must've been scary" he comforted her, kissing her head.

She nodded, "It was, but I think I somehow knew I was dreaming. But after seeing the monster it became too real it was like I could feel it was there."

"Loki's gone, the portal is shut and we won. You're safe," He assured her, but inside his mind, he wanted to add 'for now', because how long until another threat shows up? What if Loki was just the beginning?

"It's your turn, dad," she stated quietly, pulling back from the hug to give him an earnest look, "What was your nightmare about?"

Tony pursed his lips and then decided to look at the bowl of ice-cream, "Iuh, dreamed about the portal," he began, swallowing dryly as he vividly remembered the nightmare through his haunted eyes, "It was about me not making out of it."

Primrose let out a small gasp, "No..."

He nodded, dropping the smile and just giving her a sad expression, "Yep, it's terrible I know. All I could hear was your screaming, begging me to stay and then there was nothing but the darkness of space. And I couldn't hear you anymore."

She shuddered, thinking about it, "You're okay daddy, you're here with me. You saved us, we won," she retorted his own words back at him while reaching for his hand and grabbing it, "I feel you, do you feel me?"

Tony had to bite his lower lip to keep it from tremble, but at his daughter's sweet words his eyes immediately teared up, "Oh, honey," he sobbed out, giving up on trying to hold a normal expression, "Y-Yes Prim, I feel you. And I love you."

Seeing her dad cry instantly made Primrose cry as well, the two silently hugged each other again and stayed in that position as much as they wanted. Sobbing, crying, not caring if their clothes were getting wet from each other's tears. They comforted each other through the night, where no one could see the private, bonding moment between father and daughter.

"H-Hey, honey?" Tony sighed out, cleaning his tears as his ten-year-old cleaned hers while using his white tank top.

"Yeah?" she sniffed.

"What do you think of your mom and Rhodey?" he asked, desperate to change the subject and lighten the mood.

Her mom and uncle Rhodey? She appreciated her dad changing the subject, but that was still one she couldn't fully grasp yet.

"I guess it's fine"

"You guess?"

"Well, I love uncle Rhodey. And mom seems happy with him. I know you two are my parents, but you aren't together. Because you don't love mom like you love Pepper, right?"

Tony nodded, "That's right."

"So do you think uncle Rhodey loves mommy like  _that_?" she asked him, "Because I'm not sure dad, mom talks a lot with him over the phone and I like her voice when she speaks with him – she laughs a lot too, it's cute."

Tony smiled, "You do realize they've been like this for three years, right?"

Primrose back away from her dad and gave him a comical expression of disbelief, "What are you talking about, dad?"

He let out a guffaw at her face, "Don't worry honey, you're too naive sometimes. I almost didn't see it either if Pepper hadn't pointed out."

"Wow I mean, mommy always asks me what I would think if she dated someone but I didn't think she was talking about uncle Rhodey!"

He shrugged, "They're not official, they're just testing out the waters, if I may say. Casual flirting and whatnot–actually nevermind, you're too young to even think about what the word flirting means. Don't think about it, you got it?" he warned, forcing a mean tone and tickling the sides of her torso.

She giggled, "Daddy! Stop!" and when he did, smiling as he heard her laughter, she continued, "I know what flirting is! It's when you call someone pretty and then they tell you something nice as well!"

Tony stared at her before he struggled a nod, "Y-Yeah, exactly but flirting makes it romantic instead of friendly – so don't flirt with anyone, okay? At least when you're fifty-years-old. Until there, you're gonna stay single."

"What? But I'll be old when I'm fifty! I'll be a grandmother!" she exclaimed with a horrified look on her face.

Tony laughed, even harder, and that made Primrose glare at him.

"You won't be a grandmother, don't worry."

Primrose stopped glaring at him as a yawn interrupted her, then Tony yawned as well because of how contagious it was. He smiled weakly when he saw the suddenly tired expression on his daughter's face.

"Time to go back to bed, squirt," he prompted as he rose from his stool.

She whined, but when he reached his arm for her she silently obeyed and grabbed hold of his hand as assistance to hop out from the counter. He walked her to her bedroom and after closing the door behind, Primrose led him to her bed before letting go of his hand and climbing to the middle of it. She lied down and Tony covered her small body with the comforter.

"Dad?" she suddenly said.

"Yes, honey?" he smiled as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Can you stay with me tonight?"

Tony looked at the alarm clock on his daughter's nightstand, it was now ten past four in the morning and even though he didn't feel sleepy, his body and mind felt tired.

"Sure can. Scoot over, squirt," Tony told her as he took his socks off, and Primrose enthusiastically obeyed, making room for her dad as she slid her body to the left of the bed.

As soon as he lied down next to her, Primrose approached him and wrapped her arms around his own arm, and Tony instantly relaxed about how comfortable he was. The two cuddled before Primrose closed her eyes and tried to let sleep consume her.

"JARVIS, shut down the light, please," Tony whispered, knowing his loyal A.I would hear.

Without replying, JARVIS turned off the lamp that Primrose had previously turned on and Tony swallowed dryly before closing his eyes as well. He was comforted by the fact that he could feel his daughter right next to him, and she was safe and breathing – they were both fine.

But Tony didn't sleep, he couldn't. He remained still in her bed for the following two hours before he slipped out without waking her up. He decided that since he was awake he'd go to his workshop and maybe make a new suit – a better suit. A new Mark.

After all, it could be useful to have a spare suit around in case something happens to the one he currently uses during battle.

Maybe he could create a Mark specialized to protect Primrose. One that it could be with her within seconds.

Or maybe he could make a tracking bracelet and give it to his daughter – although that seemed too much, his mind was already set on it.

What if another Loki shows up and takes her again? What if she runs away from him again but this time never appears? What if... what if... what if...

What if one Mark wasn't enough to protect them all?


	29. Birthday Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iron Man 3 begins next chapter!
> 
> Once again, poor Primrose. She really has been suffering a lot, hasn't she? I feel terrible... poor kid.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Mild body gore at the end of the chapter, not that explicit but I'm still warning you!

_Primrose's Age: 11 years old._

_Date: October 17th, 2012_

_Malibu, California_

Even though the Battle of New York ended five months ago, the nightmares that Primrose had almost every night didn't.

Not even on the eve of her birthday, she escaped the terrible monsters flying towards her, the cemetery graves and the sight of watching her dad fly into the portal and never return. Primrose would wake up almost every night, if not three times a week, sweating and crying from the vivid images that her nightmare still left inside her brain.

She tried telling her mom but every time Primrose was almost successful something would come up. Like for example, her mom and her godfather were officially dating. Rhodey would even sometimes sleep in their house, the mornings were fun because Rhodey knew how to make delicious pancakes.

So Primrose didn't want to ruin her mom's happiness.

At least she had her dad. When it was Tony's week with Primrose, the two would sometimes meet each other at the kitchen and comfort each other while eating snacks. Her dad only allowed her to stay awake for at least an hour before he would tuck her in her bed again, and he'd always stay until she fell asleep but Primrose was suspicious that he wasn't sleeping like she was. Every time she'd wake up the next morning he wasn't there, and at first, Primrose thought he would just wake up before her and leave but when JARVIS warned her dad that he hasn't slept in twenty-two hours when they were having breakfast, Primrose was shocked.

And worried.

Were her dad's nightmares worst than hers?

Primrose found out the harsh way that her suspicions were correct when she saw her dad inside his workshop, working on many Iron Suits.

He called them the Iron Legion. And even though it was impressive, Primrose knew her dad was only making them because he was scared that another attack would come. To her dad's credits, in August, there was a man named Bruno Horgan that attacked her dad during a press conference at Stark Tower (luckily Primrose had been in Queens at the time) and that named himself the "Melter". The man was the former owner of the robotics company who used Melter Armor to attack Iron Man but was defeated by her dad and War Machine two days later. After being promptly defeated and placed into U.S. military custody, Primrose noticed that her dad fixation on creating more suits became worst.

But there was something else off about her dad, for example, he started to become busy and Primrose would barely see him during the day. It all happened during her summer vacation so the little girl was bummed that her dad barely spent any time with her.

He would lunch and dine with her, but that was it. The only way for Primrose to spend time with her dad was to go downstairs to his workshop and watch him work in silence while listening to his music. She actually ended up falling asleep there once but later woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night in her bed. When she went to the kitchen that night, her dad wasn't there – he was in his workshop, it barely even looked like he had moved.

Now, nothing has changed.

Her mom noticed her dad's behavior and even after talking with him about paying attention to his daughter, Tony only promised that he was almost finished with his legion and that it was for a good cause.

Pepper also tried to talk with Tony, the two were now living together and they've been dating for four years now. But even Pepper couldn't change his mind.

Primrose sighed, today was her eleventh birthday. And for the first time, she wasn't excited about it. She couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened five months ago, or that her dad was becoming a completely different person every day. Primrose couldn't get excited about anything nowadays, even Hanae, that gave her a birthday gift two days ago after the karate class, noticed that her friend was uncharacteristically dejected during the lessons.

Primrose would tell everyone she was fine.

So today she would be fine. She would have a smile on her face for her parents and friends.

The now eleven-year-old had woken up from a recent nightmare at five past four in the morning and remained in her bed until ten to make sure it was an appropriate time for her to get up. It was a tradition that she wouldn't have classes on her birthday, but Primrose wished she had homeschooling today because at least it would distract her and make the day go faster.

She left her bed and put her slippers on, it was a warm morning and cracked a small smile at the sight of the clear, blue sky above the calm ocean. It was currently raining in New York City, the weather in her country would never cease to amaze her. She turned around and walked towards her desk to greet Jimbo, her now bigger leopard gecko – no longer a baby. She couldn't believe she had Jimbo for already a year. The two shared a close bond. Primrose placed her hand inside his habitat and he instantly climbed to her palm.

"Good morning partner, ready for another day?" she asked it with a smile while petting its head gently.

Placing Jimbo on her shoulder, Primrose made her way out of her bedroom and towards the kitchen to make some breakfast. Knowing that her dad was in his workshop or passed out somewhere in the house, she didn't bother with expecting him to be there with a birthday breakfast like he usually did.

And even though her expectations were low, Primrose was still disappointed when the kitchen was empty. Pepper probably already left for work, and Happy must've driven her to Stark Enterprises.

"I guess it's just you and me, Jimbo," she sighed while making her way around the counter island towards the fridge, "Maybe dad is finally sleeping, I wouldn't mind him getting actual rest," she mumbled.

 _"Your father is currently sleeping inside his bedroom, you would like me to wake him up?"_  JARVIS suddenly asked.

Primrose smiled, both because the A.I. always knew what to say and because Pepper had obviously left a plate full of rainbow frost chocolate cupcakes inside the fridge. She took it out and placed it on the counter, there was a small note resting against one of the cupcakes.

_'Happy Birthday Primrose! I can't believe how grown you are! I'll see you later tonight, we can all watch a movie! –Pepper'_

"When..." she paused to clean a quick tear from falling from the corner of her eye, the note was simple but the gesture was enough to make her emotional, "...when did he go to bed?" she asked JARVIS while smiling at the card.

_"One hour ago."_

Primrose's smile dropped, "How long has he been awake before?"

 _"Thirty-eight hours,"_  JARVIS hesitated,  _"He actually asked me to wake him up in two hours."_

Primrose sighed and placed the card on the counter, "Well, whatever," she mumbled, tiredly, "Please warn me when he wakes up. Jimbo and I will be in my TV room," she stated while grabbing the plate of cupcakes and making her way out.

 _"Of course, and happy birthday Ms. Evans-Stark,"_  JARVIS replied, adding a more happy tone.

It made her smile, she couldn't help it, JARVIS was just as part of the family as DUM-E and U, "Thanks uncle Jarvis."

_"You are most welcome."_

* * *

_12:33 PM_

Primrose yawned as the credits for 'Wreck-it Ralph' started rolling, she enjoyed the movie but now that it was over and her focus on it was gone she realized how sleepy she actually was. Fearing she'd fall asleep while watching the movie, she'd place Jimbo back into his tank and fed it before returning to the room to continue watching her movie.

Now the movie was over, and she didn't know what to do now.

That was until she almost jumped out of her chair when her dad barged in, looking disheveled and maniac looking.

"I didn't forget I'm here!" he exclaimed as soon as he saw her. Primrose widened her eyes, still surprised, and stood up as soon as her dad went for a hug, "I'm sorry! Happy birthday! I didn't forget!"

"Dad?" she began, calmly. She was hugging him back but at this point, he was just tightening his hold on her, "It's okay, I'm not upset."

He sighed deeply and kissed her head, "You should be."

Primrose smiled sadly, and then she pulled back to look at her dad in the face, "I can't be upset with you daddy, you've been working so hard and we still have all day to celebrate my birthday. Pepper said we could all watch a movie when she comes back!"

Tony rubbed his burning eyes, three hours of sleep after being thirty-eight hours awake was barely called resting, but today was too important for him to finally shut his eyes. Besides, he has been working on a special gift for her.

"We'll watch any movie you want."

"We're gonna watch all the Harry Potter movies we can, and the first one to fall asleep is allowed to have ice cream for dinner for a month," she quickly quipped at him.

Tony smirked, "Not sure if your mom would consider that, but we'll manage," he shoved his hand in his sweatpants and took something out of it, "I got something from you, sorry if it's not wrapped but I made it. I didn't buy it," he gently grabbed her hand.

Awed and curious, Primrose looked at the silver chained bracelet that had a small shaped arc reactor in the middle of it. Gasping, she watched as her dad gently placed it around her wrist and locked it securely. He seemed focused and waiting for it to do something, and then a blue light started glowing from the smaller triangle inside the arc reactor copy, the light became intense before it dimmed out completely – but Primrose could feel it slightly vibrate against her skin.

"Uh... dad? What's this?" she asked, trying not to sound too much weirded out.

Tony was still inspecting it, "It's a bracelet."

Primrose frowned, "I know what it is, but bracelets don't glow like that."

He sighed and looked at her, "It's my own invention. It's a birthday present, it has two meanings. The first one is that the reason I made it with an arc reactor shape is that my own arc reactor is what is keeping me alive, so I thought to give a small one to you because you're what keeps me alive as well," he swallowed a lump of air when he saw Primrose's eyes watering, "And the other meaning is that I want you safe. This bracelet will give me some peace of mind when you're not with me. It's a safety bracelet, see the smaller triangle that just glowed?" he pointed at it, and Primrose nodded, "That's the panic button."

"Panic button?"

"You click it and JARVIS alerts me of your location through the GPS – I'll be there as fast as I can. It also enables you to contact JARVIS, monitor your asthma and it will instantly alert me on my phone if your blood pressure is too low or too high," he cleared his throat nervously, "Of course that I'm working on expending it to your mom's, godparents' and Happy's phones but I'm still working on it," he added with a mumble, speaking more to himself than her.

Primrose gulped as she studied it, now she was almost scared she'd activate it accidentally, "Dad I don't know what to say"

Tony shook his head, "You don't have to tell me anything. I know it's a little bit scary, me giving you this gift, but when I made it I thought about you. And I know I haven't been the best dad these past few months, I know I'm always down there but I still love you very much, and I want to protect you more than anything in this world," he stated, his voice breaking slightly.

Primrose rubbed her bracelet, it was like the jewelry had suddenly become the heaviest object in the world, "I love you too dad and I understand, but you need to think about yourself as well!" she reached for his hand and grabbed hold of it, "I'm worried about you..." she mumbled as she led it to his cheek, pressing his warm palm against it, "You stopped telling me about your nightmares, I never keep mine from you. I know you're not sleeping well," Primrose continued, closing her eyes and feeling her dad gently rub his fingers across her cheek skin, "You can talk to me, dad..."

Tony looked sadly at her, he truly had no other way to express how he was feeling other than guilty, "Honey, you don't have to worry about me. That's my job. You're a kid, you should be enjoying your childhood, not worrying over your old man like this."

Primrose shook her head stubbornly, "I decide what I do, and since I love you and you're my dad, I choose to worry," she opened her eyes to give him a determined gaze, eyeing him with a look that meant she was not backing down, "I didn't choose to be Iron Man's daughter, no one chooses their families. But this is my life, and I love my life because I have good parents and a loving and extended family. And that includes your robots and uncle JARVIS."

 _"Thank you, Ms. Evans-Stark,"_  JARVIS inputted quickly, his tone joyful.

Tony and Primrose both smiled at each other knowingly after the A.I.'s words.

"So, even though you order me to stop worrying I won't," she continued, "Even though I'm just a kid, you won't stop seeing me as your little girl even when I'm forty – so why should I stop worrying even when you're forty-two?"

He looked at her and his expression melted to a lovingly one, pulling her with him, he fell back to one of the chairs and sat her on his lap, making her giggle, "What did I do to deserve such a smart-mouth and sweet daughter like you?"

Primrose shrugged, "Your existence is already a good enough explanation, daddy."

He chuckled and pulled her into a hug, "Oh my God, happy birthday honey," Tony said as he kissed the side of her head, "I think I'm gonna pass out and take a nap right here," he quickly added.

In response, Primrose yawned and nodded at the same time, "Me too, do you wanna take a nap together?"

"What about your birthday lunch?"

"Daddy, I ate seven cupcakes for breakfast," she deadpanned while snuggling close to his chest.

His eyes widened comically as he rested his back against the chair, "Oh boy, don't ever tell your mom or Pepper that, please."

"I promise, now let's nap..." Primrose mumbled tiredly, sleep coming easily to her as she closed her eyes.

Tony wanted to retort, but he found himself shutting his eyes instead, "JARVIS, wake us up in an hour, buddy. It seems like the birthday girl wants to take a birthday nap."

 _"Certainly sir, I'll give you a birthday wake up in an hour,"_  JARVIS replied as he used his control over the house's technology to close the blinds from the windows of the room to allow darkness inside and better rest,  _"Shall I inform anyone about this nap?"_

Tony grunted, "Do what you think is right," he mumbled out sleepily.

_"Very well sir, sweet dreams."_

Primrose smiled as she listening to her dad's heartbeat, "Good night."

There was a pregnant pause after she spoke.

"Honey, it's noon!" Tony's chest jumped from his guffaw and Primrose pouted at the sudden disturbance.

"Don't move!" she snapped, wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Sorry, my bad."

Sleeping was easy for Primrose after he stopped moving, hearing her dad's breathing and his heartbeat was like a lullaby and she found herself slipping willingly into darkness.

* * *

_Primrose was sitting outside of a wooden cabin, on the stairs right outside the porch, staring peacefully at a lake that was right in the front lawn. Forest surrounded her, and a smile crept onto her lips – it was a nice change from her nightmares. She had no idea why she on the woods, but she felt comfortable and relaxed here. It seemed like it was summer, the bees were buzzing and the sunny sky shone above._

_Then almost suddenly, Primrose felt a prickling sensation on her left wrist, and when she looked she saw that the bracelet her dad gave began to squeeze around her wrist tightly, and it was getting tighter each second passed. She winced and quickly tried to take it off, but the lock was nowhere to be found. Struggling, she began to panic when trying to pry it out turned out to be futile._

_"HELP!" she screamed, looking around, "HEL–AAH!" Primrose let out a squeal when it began to painfully burn her skin suddenly, her eyes widened at the fight the sizzling sound as it melted itself in her skin, it couldn't get any worse until she heard footsteps coming from behind her._

_It was her dad._

_"DADDY!" she yelled, out of relief but still in pain, "HELP ME!" she begged him, crawling towards him only using her right hand. She looked up at him when she reached his feet and raised her left arm at him in hopes he'd knew how to take the bracelet out of her wrist._

_But all Primrose saw was her dad smiling down at her, "It's okay Primrose, it's all for your own good."_

_"W-What?!" she exclaimed, "What do you m–AAH!" she choked back a sob when the bracelet melted further into her skin, completely attaching to her body._

_He shushed her gently and crouched down to level up with her, "It's all for your own safety. Can't you see? It will be over soon, breathe..."_

_She didn't like this voice, he was completely ignoring her sobs and painful screams as he kept a calm expression, "Help me..." she cried out, but all he did was pat her head, humming a song._

* * *

Before she could feel more pained, her eyes opened slowly and she was back to being cradled on her dad's lap with barely any sunlight trying to peek inside the room through the blinds. She didn't move. All Primrose felt was a tear sliding down her cheek very slowly as she touched her real bracelet as if she was scared it would begin hurting like in her dream.

She didn't know what it had meant, her dad would never let her be in pain. So why was he the bad guy from her dream this time? What did it mean? Primrose knew this had to mean something psychological, after all, she did catch a few things while living with her mom, so was sure that maybe the dream represented what she truly felt about the bracelet.

That it was now a heavy responsibility for her, that she now had to wear it every day – that it was part of her body.

Primrose had no idea how long has it been since they started napping, she could hear her dad's slow breathing indicating that he was still sleeping. She decided to close her eyes again and focus on his heartbeat. Primrose would keep this nightmare to herself, she didn't know why but this felt like a personal jab. She'd rather have the graveyard nightmare than this one – it was too personal, too direct, and far scarier than giant monsters coming for her.


	30. No Rest For The Wicked - IM3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iron Man 3 might be shorter than the other movies, only because I refuse to put Primrose more in danger than she needs.
> 
> This movie is going to change everything, it will be a new chapter for Primrose's life and future. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Before you begin, here are a few facts about my characters:
> 
> Primrose was born on October 17th, 2001. She was born on a Wednesday at 6:35 AM.  
> Emma was born on September 7th, 1979. Making her 9 years younger than Tony and 11 years younger than Rhodey (it seems like Emma has a thing for older men?)  
> Primrose has Tony's dark brown hair and Emma's brown eyes.  
> Emma was in labor for 9 hours, including the time when her waters broke.  
> Primrose is a Libra and Emma is a Virgo.  
> Primrose has chronic asthma that was genetically passed by Emma's late paternal grandmother.  
> The estranged Portuguese family was a little easter egg by me, I'm Portuguese.  
> I came up with the name 'Emma Evans' because I wanted to use the 'Emma' name in honor of the amazing fanfiction 'Some Things Never Sleep' by 'Lucky Strike's alter ego' and the name 'Evans' because Chris Evans popped into my mind lmao.

* * *

  _We create our own demons._

_Who said that? What does that even mean? Doesn't matter, I said it cause he said it. So now he was famous and that's basically getting said by two well-known guys. I don't, uh...I'm gonna start again. Let's track this from the beginning._

_Two years before Prim was born, and my life changed for the better._

* * *

_**Primrose's age: Eleven years old.** _

_**Location: Malibu, California  
December 22nd, 2012, Saturday** _

_**11:22 AM** _

Primrose sighed as she zipped her small, luggage bag closed. Her brown eyes stared at it, lying on top of her bed, and she thought that maybe she was forgetting something for a second. Because she had that feeling, something wasn't right.

Today was the transition day, she was going to leave in a couple of hours to her dad's private jet in LAX to LaGuardia, where her mom would be waiting to pick her up. The plus side was that Hanae and she were going to have a sleepover, she was eager about that.

Primrose was trying to enjoy her Christmas vacation but every time she came to Malibu her dad would spend most of his time in his workshop – and sadly, she was starting to get used to it.

A lot happened in a month. Happy got promoted to head of security at Stark Enterprises, her mom and Rhodey's relationship was going well and strong but her dad and Pepper's one was a bit rocky because he wasn't spending time with anyone nowadays.

Before she left, Primrose wanted to talk with him about that. Maybe that's why she was feeling like something was missing – because she almost forgot about it. Happy would be here any minute so she had to hurry.

As soon as she opened the door of her bedroom, a small squeal came out of her lips when one of her dad's Iron Man suits was on the other side, seemingly about to knock.

"Oh my GOD! DAD!" She exclaimed, backing away into her bedroom while clenching her chest, "I told you to stop doing that, it's so creepy!"

_"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, honey, are you okay?"_  Tony's voice chimed from the helmet.

Primrose rolled her eyes and sighed. Technically, her dad has been spending some time with her – but through his suits. Which sucked.

"I'm fine, I was actually on my way to talk with you," she stated as she looked at the helmet, "But I can see that you decided to come to me instead," she frowned while she spoke with him, making sure her dad could see how displeased she was with him. This week consisted of her spending time by herself, drawing and studying Japanese. She sometimes swam on the indoor pool and played computer games but overall Primrose felt lonely. The highlight of each day was Pepper coming home from work and forcing him to join them for dinner.

Primrose would usually fall asleep between the two while they all watched TV.

But those moments were easily forgotten when her dad refused to leave the workshop, and when he did well it wasn't him.

_"Talk to me? About what? Did you pack already?"_  he asked quickly as the Iron Man suit walked past her, eyeing the luggage on top of her bed.

Primrose nodded, "I did. And I wanted to talk about you and Pepper."

_"Uh, okay?"_  Even when he sounded from the suit, her dad's voice still came out a bit confused. The suit turned and looked at her, and Primrose was uncomfortable about how blank the face mask was.

"Can I just talk to you face to face?" she asked, "This is weird. What Mark is this one, dad, number forty-one?"

_"It's actually number forty-two."_

"Dad!" she gasped, "You didn't invite me for the birth!" mocking disappointed, she crossed her arms and huffed loudly. She knew her dad has been working on a lot of suits, more than Pepper actually knew actually. It was bad, but seeing her dad happy made her stop from commenting on it. Besides, she felt safer knowing that the Iron Legion was in the same building as she was.

_"You were sleeping!"_  he defended.

She scowled at that, "Whatever, I just want to talk to you about your relationship. Dad?"

_"Yes?"_

"Are you making Pepper happy?"

_"You know what? Happy's gonna be here any second now."_

"Dad!"

_"What?! Look–I'm sorry Prim, but this isn't exactly a conversation I wanna have with my eleven-year-old daughter. Besides, it's almost Christmas. Can't we just have a light chat before you go back to cold and snowy New York?"_  her dad begged, and Primrose could've actually pitied him if it wasn't for the fact that a suit was in front of her, and not her dad.

"I'm going downstairs," she stated firmly, turning around and walking out of her bedroom.

_"No–wait! There's a gas leak!"_  he called out urgently from behind her.

Ignoring him, she swiftly walked through the corridor and descended the stairs while listening to the stomping of the suit that was walking behind her. When she finally walked down the stairs into the lobby, JARVIS stopped her steps with a piece of vital information.

_"Your father is actually outside, receiving a giant bunny."_

"He's what now?" she asked him quickly, and very confused.

_"Ignore JARVIS, I'm not outside. I'm definitely not by the entrance,"_  her dad quickly implored as the suit approached.

Ignoring her dad's pleas through Mark forty-five, Primrose marched straight towards the main entrance door and JARVIS had the decency of opening them for her as usual. When she got outside, she quickly gasped at the sight of the enormous looking bunny standing next to the mansion. And her dad, he was in front of her, turning off the holographic panel control coming out of his glasses to give her a nervous smile.

"So you think Pepper is going to like her Christmas present?" Tony, the real one, asked as he approached her with a hopeful smile.

He looked tired, that was the first thing Primrose thought when she saw him, but her attention was quickly focused on the giant animal again, "Wow I mean, it's a bunny?"

"A big one! And cute, isn't it good? It's great, right?" he hopped each step and got to her side, "She'll love it. Pity you won't be here to see her reaction," he added as his smile dropped.

Primrose scoffed lightly, "Yeah, pity..." she could already imagine Pepper being speechless by it, "How are you going to fit it inside the house?" she asked while conspicuously checking on him by looking at his body from head to toes.

"Some guys are gonna come tomorrow and blow the wall," he replied casually, passing by her to get inside, "Let's go back, I wanna give you something before you go."

"Oh? You're gonna give me something? Mark isn't?" she quipped at him with a sarcastic tone.

Tony frowned, buy held a smirk as he dragged her back inside while holding her hand. She was becoming what he feared the most – a teenager. Her quips and retorts were slowly becoming faster and smarter and Tony almost couldn't keep up.

"Hey, don't make fun of your brother right in front of him," he said while patting the now deactivated suit's chest plate.

"That thing is not my brother," she arched an eyebrow at him, and then let go of his hand to grab his arm, "Dad, what's this?" she asked while passing her fingers over the round scars spread on his arm.

"Micro-repeater implants. Mark forty-two is special, I can call him. Now the suit pieces fly to me," he explained as best as he could.

"That's amazing," Primrose admitted, looking at her dad with an awed expression, "That's really cool, dad!" she grinned.

And Tony copied her grin, "Heck yeah it is!"

_"Sir, Miss, Happy just told me he'll be here in ten minutes."_ JARVIS suddenly inputted.

After a brief silence, Primrose sighed and rubbed the side of her arm, "Dad why did you send the suit again?"

Tony began feeling cautious already, every time Primrose would look at him sadly he'd panic, "I-uh, I didn't want you to feel jealous of Pepper's gift."

Primrose felt that his answer had been delivered so flawless that there was no way he was lying. Was her dad that oblivious about his absence? Did he really think she cared about the giant bunny? Okay, maybe Primrose thought it was big and because of how big it looked it would be good for cuddling but that didn't mean she wanted one!

"What about you and Pepper?" she pressed, returning to the main topic from before.

Tony's left eye twisted at her question as he suddenly turned around, "I have your gift right here. Since you're spending Christmas at your mom's," he turned around and walked away from her, towards the sofa in front of the fireplace.

Primrose frowned, "Why are you avoiding my question?"

"Because Pepper and I are fine! And you shouldn't worry about us, you're just a kid!" Tony suddenly snapped at her, turning to face her with a wrapped box as he fetched it from the coffee table.

She flinched at his sudden exclaim, but she was kind of expecting it since she knew her dad well. He didn't like when people pressed him over things that made him uncomfortable, and she felt bad for doing it but at the same time, she was very concerned about her dad's relationship with Pepper and she didn't want anything happening to it because of her dad's nightmares. She talked with him and gave him the advice of telling Pepper the truth, but that would always come out as hypocritical of her since she was keeping it from her mom.

"I'm sorry..." she meekly mumbled, "I'm just worried dad, about you and about everything"

Tony quickly lost his snappy expression into a saddened one, "Oh, honey, don't apologize. I should be the one to do that, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that.

"It's okay dad, I know you'd never hurt me."

He smiled at her, and decided to finally walk up to her and hand her the gift, "You're growing up too quickly, I don't like it."

Primrose grinned as she looked at the wrapped, small box in her hands, "You don't have a choice, dad."

Tony sighed and ruffled her hair, "You can only open that on Christmas day, don't forget that," pulling her for a hug, Primrose instantly wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him back. They haven't hugged like this in a while.

"Dad?"

"Yes, honey?"

"You need to take a shower, you stink," she deadpanned, smiling when her dad let out a guffaw.

"All right, I'll take note of that."

_"Happy will be arriving in three minutes,"_  JARVIS informed them.

"Go get your things kiddo, I'll wait here," her dad told her with a gentle tone.

Primrose nodded with a small smile and scurried up the stairs onto her room to get her luggage. Tony was left downstairs, and as soon as she left the smile on his face dropped as his expression became tired and somber. He rubbed his eyes and ignored the burning sensation.

_"Sir, I would advise–"_

"Thanks but no thanks JARVIS, I'm fine," Tony grumbled as he interrupted the worrying tone that his A.I. was transmitting.

_"Once again sir, your stubbornness has won."_

"As always," the genius nodded with a sudden cocky smirk.

* * *

**_December 23rd  
10:33 AM_ **

_**Location: Teresa's Diner, Brooklyn Heights, New York** _

Emma utilized the fact that her daughter was sleeping over at her friend's home to go out with Joan for brunch while Jack stayed home with Mabel, who was now six years old and growing up fast and healthy. It was no lie that Joan and Jack have been trying for a second baby but this time they were considering adoption. Emma was very supportive of this but tonight the two would bond and relax for one weekend, celebrate their success.

They were having fun sitting by the bar counter after a delicious meal, the bartender wasn't busy at the moment so he was watching television while the two women talked.

"So, when are you going to introduce me to this Rhodey guy?" Joan asked with a knowing smirk before sipping on her Margarita glass.

Emma chuckled, "When he's not busy kicking ass. Actually, he's coming to visit me next week, we can have lunch together. Like a double date," she suggested before taking a gulp from her Daiquiri. She didn't like alcohol that much, but she'd rather have a sweet one than a strong alcoholic drink.

Joan squealed, "That would be so cute! Remember Josh and Kyle?"

The blonde groaned in response, "No! Don't bring up those two!"

The brunette laughed at her pain, "It was two months after we met, I thought you and Kyle would make a cute couple! But remind me again, what happened?" she teased, biting her lip while eagerly waiting for Emma to talk.

The psychologist sighed with a suppressed smile, "We caught Josh and Kyle having sex."

Joan giggled childishly before taking a sip from her drink and waggling her eyebrows, "Not gonna lie, I was angry and shocked back then but now I hope they're still together and thriving."

Emma shrugged, "We didn't know that Josh was only using you to please his dad, the poor guy had to pretend to be straight for years."

"Hey! We're their matchmakers! We were the ones that introduced them!" Joan gasped, grasping Emma's arms and shaking her excitedly.

The blonde laughed and let her friend shake her, "Yeah but, we were both miserable after that. Remember?"

"Me? I wasn't miserable," Joan grinned, "I found Matt a week later, remember?"

"I remember seeing a lot of socks on our doorknob afterward," Emma deadpanned with a mildly annoyed expression, she was looking at Joan pointedly but the brunette pretended to ignore and pay attention to her drink instead with a smirk.

"I don't see the problem, you decided to focus on your studies instead so you practically started living in the library."

Emma huffed, remembering her days before meeting Tony Stark, "Yeah" she mumbled. Was she happy when she was in her early twenties? Before her life was only about studying and having good grades, she doesn't regret any of it since it got her to where she is now, but Emma sometimes would think about what her life could've been if she had never gotten pregnant. Would she be dating someone by now? She knew that Rhodey and her would definitely not be together, they only met eleven years ago because of her pregnancy. Would she have moved to a different part of the city? Her expression became bitter so she took continuous sips from her drink to forget her thoughts, and Joan watched her with a worried look.

"Are you okay? Did I go too far?" the brunette asked with a gentle tone.

Emma shook her head, giving her friend a smile, "Not, I was just thinking about how my life would've been if I never met Tony. So many things could've been different, but you know what? I regret nothing. I love my life, my daughter and my new family."

Joan grinned, "Aw babe, you're so sentimental when you're drunk. I almost forgot about that."

Emma rolled her eyes, "I'm not drunk."

Before the two could continue their conversation, the bartender suddenly shushed everyone in the bar and turned the volume of the television up. Both women looked up at the screen and their faces became serious when they realized what was happening. It was a live feed from one of the news channels. It was currently six in the morning in California.

_"We're awaiting the arrival of Tony Stark. We're hoping he'll give us the reaction... His reaction to the latest attack,"_  One reporter says to the camera.

Emma rolled her eyes.

Then they saw Tony come out of the hospital and the reporters clamor around him with cameras and microphones. Tony was ignoring them and beginning to walk to his car. For a second, Emma was confused to why he was exiting a hospital, she'd have to ask that later.

" _Mr. Stark, hi there. Our sources are telling us that all signs are pointing to another Mandarin attack. Anything else you can tell us?"_ A female reporter asks.

_"Hey, Mr. Stark. When is somebody gonna kill this guy? I'm just saying."_  A guy says, holding a phone. Tony stops and turns around with an angry expression.

"Huh-oh," Joan begins, already knowing that something bad was about to happen.

"What a dick," Emma nodded.

_"Is that what you want? Heres a little holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin."_  Tony said with a tense tone.

_"I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward,"_  he took off his glasses and stared at the camera with a dark expression,  _"So I've decided that you just died, pal. I'm gonna come get the body. There's no politics here. It's just good old-fashioned revenge. There's no Pentagon, it's just you and me. And on the off chance you're a man, here's my home address. Ten thousand, eight hundred and eighty Malibu Point. I'll leave the door unlocked."_

Emma covered her mouth with shock while Joan chocked on her drink with an angry expression.

"What the hell is he doing?!" she yelled at the television between coughs.

_"That's what you wanted, right?' Tony takes the guys phone and throws it at a nearby pillar 'Bill me."_  Tony adds as he gets into his car and drives off.

Almost instantly when the channel cuts back to the reporter talking about Tony's statement, Emma felt her phone vibrate on her purse. Feeling her stomach drop dreadfully, she quickly stood from her stool, "Be right back," she told Joan as she made her way out of the diner.

"Emma!" Joan called, but her friend was already stepping outside.

Ignoring the cold air of the city, Emma grabbed her phone from inside her purse and slide the green button to pick up the call without seeing the I.D icon.

"WHAT THE HELL WHAT THAT?! YOU GAVE YOUR ADDRESS TO A TERRORIST! she quickly barked, knowing who was on the other side. Bystanders passing by gave her a look, but her furious glare quickly ushered them away.

Tony sighed,  _"It's Happy. He was there."_

Emma quickly calmed down, appalled, "Oh my God. Tony, please don't tell me he's dead!" she exclaimed.

_"No, he's alive. But critical. He's in a coma, but I got my guys watching over him, he's going to be fine,"_  Tony informed her, making Emma sigh with relief.

"Okay, that's good!" she paused, "BUT IT STILL DOESN'T EXCUSE YOU TELLING THE WORLD YOUR ADDRESS!" she continued yelling.

_"Please, Em, just stay in New York with Primrose! I know, I messed up again but I have a bad feeling, this just got personal. And you know what happens when it gets personal."_ Tony stated with a dark tone.

"YOU MADE IT PERSON–" cutting herself, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. Yelling wasn't going to solve anything, "Look, Tony, Prim is at a friend's house having a sleepover. She's gonna wake up and see this mess. You better clean it," Emma said through gritted teeth, "I mean, what were you thinking? What if Primrose was with you right now?!"

_"I KNOW! I'M SORRY! It's my fault! I'm– HAPPY ALMOST DIED OKAY? I got scared! I'm angry, I want to kill that son of a bitch, you know? I spoke without thinking, which I always do!"_  Tony told her as he wheezed on the other line,  _"Oh God, there it is again."_

"There's what?" Emma focused on hearing his voice, he didn't sound so good, "Tony, you need to breathe" she opted to use a calmer tone, more gentle this time. Although she was beyond pissed off at him, she needed to think logically. Tony wasn't okay, ever since the Chitauri attack something shifted with him, Emma wasn't blind she could see it. But with this man, everything had to be done in a careful way or else he'd back away as soon as he realized you're actually caring about his health.

He was a selfless idiot.

_"I have to go,"_  he suddenly gasped,  _"I'll talk with you later. Make sure Prim is fine."_

"Tony–!" Emma scoffed angrily when he hung up quickly. She stared at her phone and almost threw it away if it wasn't for Joan's sudden appearance coming out of the bar.

"Whoa! Calm down!" she grabbed her friend's arm and looked at her with widened eyes, "Is everything okay?"

Shoving her phone back in her purse, Emma looked at Joan with an apologetic look, "No, everything is not okay. I have to go home, I'm sorry Joan."

The brunette smiled sadly, "Oh babe, it's okay. I understand, I mean, that was insane. What was he thinking?"

"He wasn't."

"I'll take you home. Are you picking Primrose from her friend's house?" she asked as the two started to make their way to Joan's car.

Emma pursed her lips, "No" she replied, "She doesn't deserve to be anxious right now. I just hope she wasn't watching the news as always."

"She watches the news?" Joan asked with a quirk of her brow.

"She likes being informed with the world, it's actually amazing how much that girl can know from watching television."

"Well, I'm sure she and her friend are too busy playing, or whatever."

Emma dearly hoped so.

* * *

**_Astoria, Queens_ **

Hanae's room was clean and organized. Primrose was so impressed that she even thought if her food fell on the floor she could perfectly eat from it. When Hanae showed her around, the thing that most intrigued Primrose was that her window led to the fire-escape staircase outside. She asked her friend if it didn't feel like someone could climb those and watch her from outside, but Hanae had chuckled and simply said that at night or when they leave, her dad or mom always locks her window and closes the curtains. Plus, it was nice to sit outside sometimes and watch people walk by on the streets down below. And the stairs led to the roof, where she sometimes trained alone.

She had arrived back to Queens yesterday and had time to go back home, take a shower and pack her bag for the sleepover with Hanae. She brought her toiletries bag, an extra pair of clothing and underwear, her Slytherin pajamas, snacks, her pillow, slippers, comb and of course, the bracelet her dad gave it to her on her birthday – but that was always on her wrist.

Although excited, Primrose was nervous about her sleepover at Hanae's. The two have been friends for almost a year but this was her first time at the Sato residence. They lived on a friendly block, in an apartment with three bedrooms on the thirty-fifth street and it was just fifteen minutes away from her house back in Hunters Point.

Hanae's parents were nice, her father worked all day but managed to tirelessly talk during dinner and get to meet Primrose, he was a nice man but she didn't see him again after the meal was done. He retrieved himself into his own office. Hanae's mom was friendly and was always asking if they needed something to eat, she even made Primrose's futon even though the girl insisted she didn't need to and always wanted to know more about her. Hanae had to tell her to stop making questions because the two were supposed to watch 'Treasure Planet' and they had to sleep early if they were going to the park to train.

When it was time to sleep, Primrose couldn't help to have a bad feeling in her stomach while she was brushing her teeth. She thought it was because she forgot to bring her medication, but there was something else eating her awake.

So she wasn't able to sleep much, even though Hanae fell asleep right away.

Primrose didn't remember when she finally fell asleep, but the brunette felt like she blinked and then it was morning – and that Hanae was waking her up for breakfast.

It was eight in the morning sharp, Primrose was too sleepy but she was a guest in Hanae's house and the last thing she wanted was to be rude and grumpy to her family. So she quickly got out of her futon and greeted her friend's family. As both little girls waited for breakfast to be served, Primrose asked why there was a third bedroom in the house not being used, and Hanae explained that room belonged to her older brother who was on his last year of high school, studying in Japan. He would move back to Queens next year to begin college.

They quieted down when Hanae's dad sat down on the table with a newspaper on his hands.

After breakfast, when Mr. Sato left for work, the two decided to watch some television before leaving for the park. They were still in their pajamas and in no hurry. After watching cartoons for almost an hour, Primrose finally found the bravery to ask Hanae if she could watch the news, the Japanese girl agreed at once, telling her that she too liked watching it, but she wasn't sure if Primrose wanted.

The two had shared a smile over something they had in common.

And that's how Primrose found out that her dad's mansion in Malibu had its own live feed on every channel, and surrounded by other helicopters. The informative box stated that her dad had threatened the Mandarin and told the world his home address. Now that was something that left her speechless, and scared. She wanted to call her dad or her mom but she realized that she was frozen in her seat on the couch.

Hanae looked at her friend and gave her a concerned expression, "It's going to be okay."

But then, almost ironically, at the same time, Primrose's eyes widened when she saw something approach the mansion. It was a missile.

Both girls gasped when it collided the mansion, Primrose rose to her feet right away as the side where her bedroom was exploded.

"MAMA!" Hanae yelled, and her mom came running to the living room right away, phone in her hand.

"Yes, she is right here Ms. Evans..." Mrs. Sato's words trailed as she looked in horror at the screen of her television, "Oh no."

Primrose, unable to take her eyes from the television, started sobbing almost immediately. Hanae was right next to her quickly, her expression startled.

"Prim, it's your mother!" Mrs. Sato said as she pressed her phone next to the little girl's ear.

_"Prim, listen to me baby, don't turn on the television!"_  Emma's voice was shaky as if she was holding back from crying.

"T-Too late..." Primrose whispered, "Is he there? Is Pepper with him?" she asked as she watched a place she once called home crumbling and fall apart into the ocean.

Her mom didn't say anything for a moment, "Sweetie, please s-stop watchi–OH GOD!" Emma suddenly yelled, proving that she was also watching it as well.

Because the house suddenly collapsed further as the helicopters fired again, Primrose flinched at the sight of the furniture falling in the ocean as if it was nothing. Another missile then hits, making the house begin to topple over the cliff.

Then something hit one of the helicopters firing the missiles against the house, making it explode and that was enough to let Primrose know that her dad was still alive.

"He's fighting back!" she told her mom as Hanae and her mom watched the television intently.

Then a second helicopter exploded, and this time Primrose managed to grin, "YES! Go daddy!" she cheered.

_"Oh my God, please..."_  Emma begged on the other line, feeling hopeful as well.

But something went wrong, the helicopter that her dad just exploded was heading towards the house. The smile that she held suddenly dropped when she realized that.

"Oh," Primrose deadpanned.

The helicopter hits, and Primrose whines with a broken expression when she sees her dad's cars falling towards the cliff, that meant that DUM-E also fell down – and that was enough to break her heart and make the tears fall again. The helicopter flies again, then the house finally toppled into the sea, and as it fell, Primrose's knees gave up and she dropped on the floor as well, her expression hopeless as she continued watching the screen.

Mrs. Sato looked at the child worriedly, she almost turned off the television but she felt that if she did that Primrose would never forgive her.

"Where is he where is he where is he" Primrose kept repeating as her eyes searched all over the screen for Iron Man. Even Hanae was beginning to panic as she tried to look for him again. She didn't want Primrose to lose her father like this!

While Primrose takes a panicked breath, Mrs. Sato placed her phone back against her ears and talked with Emma.

"Ms. Evans, you better come pick her up she's in a state of shock."

_"Does she have her asthma medication? I'm on my way!"_  Emma quickly said.

Mrs. Sato turned to Primrose, "Sweetie, did you bring your inhaler?"

"She forgot, she told me she'd be okay," Hanae responded for Primrose, who had gone quiet as she watched her home being drowned by the sea.

"Did you hear that, Ms. Evans?" Mrs. Sato sighed.

_"Yes, I did. I'll bring her inhaler with me, make sure she continues breathing properly. I'll be there in ten minutes."_  Emma then promptly hung up, not caring if it was rude or not, she needed to hurry back to her daughter and comfort her.

"Primrose, your mom is on the way" Hanae began with a gentle tone as she kneeled next to her friend, "I'm sorry about your dad, I-I wish I could comfort you better" Hanae knew there was no way Tony Stark could've survived that. No one human could've.

Inconsolable, Primrose suddenly stood on her feet. No tears were in her eyes, she didn't even look sad anymore. She looked angry and determined.

"I need to go get dressed," Primrose told the two, and without waiting for their reply, she ran to Hanae's bedroom and closed the door. Quickly enough, she took her pajamas off and opened her bag, taking her Capri black leggings and her white tank-top and her grey zip-up hoodie from it and dressing up as fast as she could before putting on her sneakers.

When she was done, she quickly combed her hair and made a ponytail and took a deep breath, thinking about what she was about to do while closing her eyes and meditating about it.

Then, Primrose opened her eyes and walked to the window. She opened it slowly for Mrs. Sato and Hanae not to hear and peeked down at the emergency fire escape staircase. She passed one leg to the other side, and before passing over the other one, she looked back at Hanae's door and considered what she was about to do again.

But as she recalled the images of her home exploding, Primrose didn't hesitate any more and passed over to the other side. She closed the window slowly and began making her way down the stairs. It wasn't very far since Hanae lived on the third floor, but she still couldn't help to feel little vertigo when descending.

The end of the stairs ended up in a back alley of the building, Primrose quickly made her way out of it into the streets and as soon as she did she began running in the direction of the nearest bus stop. She wasn't going to take a bus home, she didn't even know which bus to take. But she wanted to see the map of the area so Primrose could know how to get home on foot. She must've run for at least five minutes before stopping to take a breath, she sat on a random bench in front of a barbershop and took deep breaths to avoid any asthma attacks.

Then she heard the jiggling on her wrist, and she realized. She had the bracelet!

Without hesitating, she pressed the smaller triangle of the small arc reactor on it and waited.

_"H..Hello?"_

"JARVIS!" she yelled, relieved. Looking around, she realized her outburst caused some unwanted attention, so before someone realized she was Tony Stark's daughter, Primrose got up from the bench and hid in the alley between the barbershop building and the sushi restaurant, "JARVIS?" she tried.

_"Oh, hello missy you clicked the emergency butter,"_  JARVIS said, his robotic voice sounded slurry.

"Butter? What? JARVIS? Are you okay? Is my dad okay?" she whispered at her bracelet, "I clicked the button! He should know where I am!"

JARVIS let out a groan, surprising Primrose,  _"I can't chit-chat right now miss, I need to focus on the flight plan's location. Oh, I must go now, I need to advise your sleepy father that the emergency alert triggered by the power dropping below five percent."_

Primrose blinked, perplexed at how the A.I. was behaving. It was like JARVIS had been hit in the head and was now dealing with a concussion.

But ignoring that, Primrose felt happiness overwhelming her when JARVIS confirmed that her dad was indeed alive, "Where are you two?! Where did you take my dad?"

_"It's snowy, bye-bye!"_

The connection was gone, Primrose frowned when she saw the blue light that the arc reactor from her bracelet emitted dim down to nothing.

"JARVIS? Hello?" she poked her bracelet several times, hoping that it would work.

Primrose groaned and let her arm drop. At least her dad was fine, but now she was going have to face Mrs. Sato, Hanae, and her mom after she stupidly escaped. What was she thinking? There was no way she could go to Malibu by herself and without any money. She could almost laugh at herself now that she knew her dad was alive, and Primrose did smirk. She couldn't help to tell her mom and everyone that he was okay!

But as soon as she took a step to leave the alley, a hand covered with a black-leathered glove covered her mouth while an unknown arm of the same person pulled her further into the alley. Before Primrose could even begin to struggle, a needle was stabbed on her neck and the liquid inside of it quickly injected in her veins, knocking her out instantly.

A bald man smiled as he carried her to the SUV parked in the far end of the opposite side of the alley. He began whistling and looking around, making sure no witnesses were present. Opening the back door, the bald man carefully lied her down on the seats and closed the door.

He grabbed his phone from his pants and quick-dialed a phone number before pressing it on his ear. He waited a few seconds before Aldrich Killian answered on the other side.

_"Do you have her?"_

"Yup, she's out. No witnesses."

_"How?"_  Killian asked, confused. He thought that Eric would at least have to kill Emma Evans to get to Tony Stark's precious daughter.

Eric let out an amused chuckle, "Kid was actually by herself in a back alley."

Killian blinked, perplexed,  _"Okay, are you sure that's Primrose Stark?"_  he needed to be sure.

Eric nodded, "Yes sir, I couldn't believe it myself. I guess I got lucky."

Scoffing, Aldrich stared at his own nails,  _"Bring her in, then I'm going to need you to go to Rose Hill with Brandt to recover a set of documents."_

"You got it, boss." Eric nodded before both hung up. He looked at the unconscious girl again and smirked. Sure, Killian was ruthless for wanting to inject this kid with the Extremis but his boss wouldn't stop until Tony Stark was finished. And what better way was to destroy Stark? Killing his daughter and make him watch was a start.


	31. Boy Meets the Mechanic - IM3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All I ask is... please don't kill me!
> 
> And obviously, I had to include Harley Keener, aka Tony's new adopted son, in my story! I also included a deleted scene with E.J, Harley's bully.

**_Location: Five miles outside Rose Hill, Tennessee_ **

**_Tony's POV_ **

There was darkness for a long time after crashing into the ocean, and for a moment he felt relaxed for finally resting after being awake for three days. But then there was a distant voice, a robotic but familiar one. Trying to pull him from his unconscious state. Was the time to wake up already here? That sucked, he wanted to sleep more.

_"Sir?"_  JARVIS questions, his voice distant. Alarms blare in an attempt to bring Tony to consciousness. " _Sir!"_

"All right, kill the alarm. I got it," Tony said, groggily.

_"That's the emergency alert triggered by the power dropping below five percent,"_  JARVIS informs him,  _"It's also the alarm for Ms. Evans-Stark's panic button."_

That woke Tony right away, it was as if he had been zapped, "What!? Why? Is she okay?" he looked outside from his helmet and his eyes widened, "It's snowing, right? Where are we, upstate?" Tony asks.

_"She wanted to know where you are... We are five miles outside of Rose Hill, Tennessee,"_  Jarvis informs him.

"Why?! Jarvis? Not my idea! What are we doing here?! This is thousands of miles away! I gotta get Prim! I gotta get Pepper. I gotta..." he began stammering, the scene of his house exploding and being recorded by helicopters coming to his mind. Shit, what if Primrose saw everything on television and thought he was dead?

_"I prepared a flight plan. This was the location,"_  JARVIS replies, sounding confused.

"Who asked you?!" he exclaimed, "Open the suit," Tony orders.

_"I...I think I may be malfunctioning, sir..."_  JARVIS slurs out.

"Open it, J," Tony orders. The suit opens as the A.I. obeys but when sat up he instantly shivered and began rubbing his hands together hoping to get them warmer, "That's brisk. Maybe I'll just cozy back up for a–" Tony says as he begins to lie back down.

_"I actually think I need to sleep now, sir,"_  JARVIS interrupts, his voice dropping off.

"Jarvis. Jarvis? Don't leave me, buddy..." Tony pleads, but there is no reply. Sighing he looked around and mentally started preparing a plan. First, he needed to find a way to communicate with Pepper and tell her to tell his daughter and Emma that he was alive – and also, apologize, of course. Then he needed to find a warm place where he could get food and fix his suit to get back and go after the Mandarin.

That was a two-part plan, now all he had to do was walk five miles in the snow to Rose Hill.

It actually took him twenty minutes of walking by the side of the road while dragging the suit with a make-shift rope before he was able to find a small convenience store called 'Texaco' by Rose Hill's entrance. Tony couldn't stop shaking and the cold was killing him because he was only wearing a t-shirt, but after spotting a phone booth his blood instantly warmed up and he found the energy to get inside and make the call. Tony dragged his suit through the snow faster, towards it, and after dropping the suit behind him, he swiftly took a poncho from a red Indian statue of the store and dressed it to keep his body warmer.

Tony grabbed the suit's ropes again and dragged it to the phone booth nearby, and after sitting it next to the booth, he entered in and pressed a code on the digits, then he placed the phone over his ear.

_"Stark secure server now transferring to all known receivers,"_  A synthetic female voice states.

He sighed before speaking, "Pepper, it's me. I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time," Tony quickly says, going directly to the point, "So... First off, I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way. That was selfish and stupid, and it won't happen again. Also, its Christmas time and the rabbits too big. Done. Sorry. And I'm sorry in advance because I can't come home yet. I need to find this guy. You and Primrose gotta stay safe, that's all I know. Please tell her and Em that I'm alive and I just stole a poncho from a wooden Indian." Tony then hung up, deciding to keep the message short. Besides, he couldn't trust himself if he kept talking, he might've told Pepper where he actually was.

All he knew was that Primrose could stop mourning him and suffer. He walked away from the booth, dragging the suit with him again, and found a lonely house with a decently big shed attached away from the neighboorhood nearby – a perfect hiding spot.

Tony approached the shed and heaved the suit to stand in front of the wooden doors, then he grabbed the ax resting against the shed's walls and used it to hit the suit so that its heaviness broke the door's locker, making it fall as the suit did as well. The door was open.

Tony stared at the suit with a frown for a moment, before taking off his poncho and throwing the ax away. Breathing heavily from tiredness and cold, he looked around at the streets to make sure no one saw him breaking in, then, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead, he scanned the area inside the shed to be sure no one was inside.

When he realized he was alone, he nodded to himself and leaned down to heave the suit upward and onto a nearby sofa while grunting.

"Let's get you comfy..." Tony whispers softly as he takes the seat next to the suit and moves the suit's arms to rest it against the armchair. Then, the two had a seemingly staring contest as the helmet was positioned like he was staring at Tony, "You happy now?" he sarcastically asks before using his fingers to move the helmet so it was staring ahead instead of him. He rested against the sofa and took a moment to breathe and think better about his situation.

He had been incredibly stupid and selfish. Letting his emotions and fears get in the way of the safety of the ones he loved made him feel like shit – Pepper could've died, and that woman Maya? Even though she was in his past she still could've been an innocent casualty that he would've caused if he didn't keep his mouth shut. What if Primrose had been with them? He closed his eyes painfully, hoping that Pepper had gotten the message and was warning his daughter about his fate. Tony would have to apologize after he deals with the Mandarin.

Opening his eyes, he decided to begin working instead of dwelling on his mistake. He stood from the sofa and walked to the working station nearby while turning the lamp attached to it. Tony sat down on the stood and grabbed a plier to start taking out the micro-repeater implants that were getting loose from his skin, after he took the first one out (and ignoring the sharp pain), Tony saw a brisk movement from the corner of his eyes by the shed's entrance.

"Freeze!" a boy states with a mild scared but cautious expression, "Don't move," he orders while aiming a seemingly toy gun at him.

Tony raises his arms in surrender, his expression guarded, "You got me. Nice potato gun," he quickly compliments, "Barrels a little long. Between that and the wide gauge, its gonna diminish your FPS," he quickly informs the boy.

The kid simply keeps staring at him with a wary expression before aiming and shooting a vase that was on the top shelve of wall nearby to prove Tony that the barrel was good enough to hit him. He smirks at him.

"And now you're out of ammo," the genius deadpans as he drops his arms down.

Still, the boy didn't stop aiming the gun at him, "What's that thing on your chest?" he asked, referring to the blue circle shining through the shirt.

"It's an electromagnet," Tony responded, "You should know, you got a box of them right here," he added.

"What does it power?"

Tony hesitated for a moment before standing up and moving aside while pointing the lamp towards the sofa, revealing the suit. The kid instantly grins and drops his potato gun on the floor as he looks in awe at the suit with recognition.

"Oh my God!" he exclaims excitedly, "That... That's..." calming down, he walks closer to Tony, "Is that Iron Man?" the sandy-haired kid asks.

"Technically I am," Tony retorts.

The boy's expression sobers slightly as he takes out a wrapped newspaper from his bag and hands it to Tony, "Technically, you're dead," he states as he passed by the genius to approach the suit.

Tony opens the newspaper to see his face on the front cover with the words 'MANDARIN ATTACK: STARK PRESUMED DEAD' labeled. He scowled at it, "Valid point," he told the kid as he thought about Primrose reading this.

"What happened to him?" the boy asked as he sat next to the suit, touching its helmet and inspecting all of it.

"Life. I built him. I take care of him," he paused as he threw the newspaper to the workstation with a frown, "I'll fix him," Tony added, now more determined than ever. He needed to get back to his daughter fast.

"Like a mechanic?" the boy presumed, playing with the helmet.

"Yeah."

He nodded and returned his attention back to the suit and begins, "Hm If I was building Iron Man and War Machine–"

"It's Iron Patriot now," Tony interrupted.

"That's way cooler!" the boy says with amazement.

Tony purses his lips and gives the kid a look, "No it's not."

"Anyways, I would have added in, um, the retro..."

"Retro-reflective panels?" Tony supplies, finishing his sentence.

"To make him stealth mode!" the sandy-haired boy finishes, smiling and nodding.

Tony instantly knew this kid was smarter than he looked, he was starting to like him. But he had to admit that him seeing a complete stranger in his shed and not calling anyone for help was a bit concerning, this kid shouldn't be too trustworthy, but in the end, Tony was glad he didn't because now he could actually have someone helping him, "You want stealth mode?" the genius asked the kid, impressed with his idea.

"Cool, right?" the kid states.

"That's actually a good idea. Maybe I'll build one," Tony says, genuinely thinking about it–Not a good idea!"

As Tony talks, the kid's curiosity about the suit led him to accidentally rip one of the suit's finger out, he flinched as it held it on his hand, "Oops" he mumbled.

"What are you doing? You're gonna break his finger? He's in pain. He's been injured. Leave him alone," Tony scolds as the kid looks up at him with his blue eyes looking apologetic.

"S-Sorry" he stammers out sheepishly.

"Are you?" Tony complains, raising his voice a little bit. But then the kid gave him another look that meant he was obviously feeling bad about breaking the finger, Tony instantly calmed down, the patience of a father was everything and God knows that Primrose might've also broken a few things in his workshop that he could easily fix. He never lost his patience with her so he needed to keep his cool with this boy, "Don't worry about it, I'll fix it," Tony quickly assured the kid, "So, uh, who's home?" he asked to change the subject.

"Well, my mom already left for the diner and dad went to seven-eleven to get scratchers. I guess he won because that was six years ago," the kid answers with a nonchalant tone.

Immediately, Tony frowned at that. The kid's father left? What a dickhead. But he knew this kid didn't tell him this because he was looking for pity, Tony had a feeling that this boy was stronger than he looked. He crossed his arms and stared at the kid with a serious expression, "Hm Sorry to hear that, but it happens. Dads leave. No need to be a pussy about it," honestly, what Tony wanted to do was comfort the kid, he couldn't imagine his daughter growing up without him but he couldn't get attached to this boy, especially when he didn't have a father figure in his life, "Here's what I need," he began, again to change the uncomfortable subject.

The boy looked up and him and squinted his eyes.

"A laptop, a digital watch, a cell phone, the pneumatic actuator from your bazooka over there, a map of the town, a big spring and a tuna fish sandwich," Tony listed as the kid stared at him, mouth agape.

"What's in it for me?" the kid retorted, looking at the man with a smug expression.

Tony shrugged, "Salvation? What's his name?"

"Who?"

"The kid that bullies you at school. What's his name?" He didn't mean to sound so paternal when he asked that, but figures. If his daughter ever had a bully, Tony would've wanted to know about it to take care of it.

The boy looked at his own lap, ashamed, "How'd you know that?"

Tony approached his suit, "I got just the thing," from the back of the suit, a compartment opened and from inside, Tony pulled a small, silver object out of it, "This is a pinata for a cricket," he explained as he kneeled down to be at the same height as the kid, "'Im kidding. This is a very powerful weapon. Point it away from your face, press the button on top, it discourages bullying."

Tony noted that the kid seemed to be hesitant, this bullying really looked tough on him.

"Non-lethal, just to cover one's ass," Tony adds, offering him the silver object, "Deal? Deal? What do you say?" he continues, pulling the silver object away from the kid as he reaches out for it. While he pitied the boy, he needed to know if he was on board with the deal, because what he needed was to go back as fast as he could.

"Deal," the kid states.

"Deal?" Tony nods, finally giving the object to the boy. Pretending to be casual, he leaned back while the kid inspected the object with curiosity, "What's your name?"

"Harley And you're?" he queries, and Tony had to admit that having someone who didn't know who he was, was a change of fresh air. In a good way.

"The mechanic, Tony," he quickly said, "How old are you, by the way? You look too young to be carrying potato guns."

"I'm eleven."

Tony smiled, he couldn't help it, "I have a daughter your age."

Harley looked at him, interested, "Is she also a mechanic?"

"No, she's an artist. And you know what keeps going through my head?" Tony paused for dramatization, "Where's my sandwich?"

* * *

**_Location: Aldrich Killian's Mansion, Miami, Florida_ **

**_Primrose's POV_ **

The first thing Primrose felt when she returned to consciousness, was her chest tingling and warmness all over her body. When she opened her eyes, the eleven-year-old let out a shocked gasp and sat upright as she quickly remembered the hand covering her mouth and the sharp sensation on her neck. Primrose covered the area of her neck where she had been injected with a syringe, but she felt no pain around it. Instead, aside from the tingling sensation on her chest and how hot she felt, Primrose felt fantastic.

She looked around her, scanning her surroundings. She seemed to be in a small cell, sitting on a dirty mattress and around here there was nothing but a bucket in the corner and weeds growing out of the tiles from the floor. And when she looked up, she noted the security camera staring at her from the upper corner of the cell. Startled, Primrose immediately rose up from the mattress and approach the cell's bars, looking outside with widened eyes and searching for someone that could help her.

"Hello?!" she called out, fearfully, "Is anyone there? Where am I?" she yelled, her voice echoing through the long corridors around her.

No one replied, but she heard footsteps approaching. Cautiously, she backed away from the bars and started to shake while imagining who could it be coming near her.

Then a man showed up, smiling. He didn't look scary, but his sight was unnerving.

"There she is, back from dreamland. How do you feel Prim, can I call you that? After all, your father and I know each other," he began, approaching the bars of her cell and staring at her with an expectant expression.

"W-Who are you?" she stammered out, not recognizing him the slightest.

"My name is Aldrich Killian. Call me uncle Al," he grinned, as if he just told a good joke, "Now that we're past introductions, how do you feel? Warm?"

Primrose frowned at him, backing away further, "Where am I?"

He frowned, "Now Primrose, it's rude not to answer a question."

"Where am I!"

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" he yelled, losing his patience, and as he did, Primrose gasped when his eyes began to shine a bright yellow and the veins on his face shone red. She backed away from him, flinching.

"What's wrong with you?" Primrose whispered, afraid of the answer.

Killian exhaled through his nose and calmed down, offering her another smile, "Nothing. I'm perfect. I have made the perfect cure for everything. And you should know it, it's in your blood."

Starting to breathe heavily, Primrose looked at her own palms and saw that the more she began to panic, the redder the veins on her arms and hands became. It started to burn, she couldn't breath, "W-What did you do to me?"

Killian grinned, "I fixed everything about you. But it's a shame that the side effects may be death."

"W-What?" Primrose squealed, her veins becoming dangerously brighter as she freaked out even more, "I feel h-hot!" she whined, grabbing her own arms.

He hummed, his expression casual, "Then maybe you should calm yourself down, it would be troublesome for you to explode before your daddy could see it. Or maybe you might be a pleasant surprise. You see, I injected some Extremis into you."

"What's that?" she asked, trying to keep her mind away from her glowing veins and the rising warmness all over her body.

"I'm glad you asked, the Extremis was something I created thirteen years ago by using nanotechnology. It grants the human body the ability to heal and regenerate from physical damages, deformities, and even psychological damages. You see, I grew up with a number of physical disabilities and I was never able to accept them, so spent most of my life trying to overcome them in any way I could," he told her with a distant look.

"So you created something to cure your disabilities?" Primrose asked, connecting the dots.

"Yes! Exactly!" he clapped his hands, "You can be a smart girl when you want to."

"But that doesn't explain why you're doing this to me..."

"Ah, well, on New Years Eve, thirteen years ago, in Bern, Switzerland, I met and initially asked for your dad's support for my project under Advanced Idea Mechanics, only to be shunned and ignored," he paused, and his smile dropped into a scowl full of anger, "And tricked by him, left on the rooftop by the cold as everyone celebrated a new year. But guess what–I celebrated someone new as well. I grew tired of waiting, I pondered on jumping down from the roof."

Primrose frowned at that, she knew her dad was a bit different before she was born. She read the articles online and people to this day still like to talk about how much he changed from being a bachelor that partied every night to a father, but that didn't mean she pitied this man.

"But then my presence on the roof caused me to relish in my state of anonymity, in which made me decided to work on my own in creating an expansive and covert business for myself. Then a woman named Maya helped me, she had the important formula. And thus, here I am" he spread his arms open and gave her a wide grin, "No more disabilities!"

Primrose sighed, "You could've used Extremis for good, why use it for bad?"

Killian chuckled, "Oh sweetie, you're so naive."

She glared at him, "Am I? Let me guess, you said I could explode, right? Does that mean that the recent explosions were caused by you? Were those people whose Extremis killed?!" she yelled, tired of being patronized.

Killian whistled, "I was not expecting you to be this feisty and still be alive, by the way, you really should calm yourself down. I mean, you're fuming," he laughed, once again, at his own pun.

Primrose took a moment to realize that her clothes were indeed starting to smoke and that her skin was red as her veins became visible and covered in an orange hue, she gasped, it was like lava itself was coursing through her body.

"You won't get away with this, my father will kick your ass," she whispered harshly, trying to calm down.

"Ah-ah, language young lady. Now, if you excuse me," Killian smiled and straightened his tie, "I have a date with Pepper."

Primrose's eyes instantly widened, "P-Pepper?" she glared furiously at him and approached the bars, "What did you do to her?! Don't hurt her!"

He smirked, looking down at her as he stepped closer as well, "I will do everything to destroy your father, sweetie, including killing what is most precious to him, and that includes you," Killian said as he bopped her nose, she instantly flinched away from his touch though, "And, unfortunately, Pepper," he sighed, looking disappointed, "Such a shame though, she's such a great woman. Your dad doesn't deserve her."

"Neither do you," she spat at him through gritted teeth. The amount of hatred she felt for Killian, a man she just met, was making her feel unbelievably powerful. Primrose didn't know if it was because her anger was fueling her Extremis, but right now she just wanted to punch him in the face – and she never thought about doing that to anyone, ever.

He let out a guffaw, "Ouch. That hurt, anyways, nice chat. I have to go now," he turned and began making his way down the hall, but suddenly halted when he remembered to add something, "Oh and, if I were you I wouldn't try to escape. I have eyes on your mommy and we both wouldn't want anything happening to her, right?"

Primrose's expression fell into a crestfallen one, "Oh no..."

"Don't worry, Dr. Evans is more worried about your whereabouts than anything. After all, you have been missing for a few hours," on that note, Killian returned to walking away from the area, leaving being a shocked and scared Primrose behind.

"Mommy..." realizing what she had just done, Primrose groaned and covered her face with shame. It was her fault she was here, she was stupid enough to escape the Sato residence and go on her own through the streets, knowing who she was! She made herself an easy target to find, and her father was missing and presumed dead so obviously, it was like she had painted a red target circle on herself.

Then she sat on her bed and admitted defeat, Killian was right, she was naive. She was. And stupid too. Primrose decided to lay down, she didn't feel warm anymore, nor her veins showed a visible orange, instead, she began crying and curled her body into a fetal position to hide from the world. This was the worst she ever felt, and Primrose endured aliens attacking her city.

* * *

**_Hunters Point, Queens  
Thirty Minutes Ago_ **

**_Emma's POV_ **

Emma felt someone place a blanket over her body, but she couldn't care. All she could do was sit on her sofa and stare at the city from her living room's window as if she would see where Primrose was.

It's been five hours since she disappeared, Mrs. Sato was feeling terrible by not noticing that the little girl had escaped through the fire staircase but Emma couldn't blame her, her daughter was stubborn like her dad and when she had something set on her mind she'd go for it. Hanae offered to help search for Primrose, but Emma told her to stay put.

She called Joan and with the help of Jack, the three procured Primrose throughout all the places of the city the girl was familiar with. Mabel even helped, the poor kid was saddened she couldn't find her.

During the first hour of the search, Pepper called Emma and quickly informed that Tony had contacted her through the secure server and he was alive. She didn't know where he was and although Emma was very relieved that he was alive, she had to sadly tell Pepper that Primrose was missing. Pepper then promised everything was going to be okay, she found a woman named Maya Hansen and she might have the answers to what is going on.

That was the last time she heard from Pepper as well, two hours later she tried to contact her but Pepper never answered.

Feeling defeat, Emma returned back home with hopes to see Primrose there, but to avail because the apartment was empty. Joan decided to stay with her while Jack and Mabel went back home, and the brunette was doing her best to comfort her friend.

But nothing seemed to cheer Emma up, everyone was missing. She even tried to call Tony but his phone was dead. Pepper still didn't pick up hers and there were no signs of Primrose's whereabouts.

All Emma could do was hope, and remain positive.

But then, she suddenly jolted up from her pitiful self as if she was hit with a brick on her head. She knew who could help, or at least keep her mind at ease. Grabbing her phone, she ignored Joan's questions and called a number that was sure to answer.

* * *

**_Rose Hill, Tennesee  
Tony's POV_ **

**_8:05 PM_ **

Tony ventured to the small town with Harley by his side. His stomach was no longer empty and he was now wearing appropriate clothes for the cold, snowy weather. As they walked, he couldn't help how quiet the kid could be if the genius himself would start the conversation, and Tony was starting to feel awkward as the two walked together.

"The sandwich was fair, the spring was a little rusty, the rest of the materials, I'll make do," he begins as they entered a dead end street, "By the way, when you said your sister had a watch..." he looks down at a Dora the Explorer digital watch already on his wrist.

"Yeah?" Harley questions.

"I was kind of hoping for something a little more adult than that," he tells the kid, "Not even my daughter would like this."

Harley guffaws, "She's six! Anyway, it's a limited edition. When can we talk about New York?"

"Maybe never, relax about it," Tony quickly states as the two approach the end of the street, where a memorial site with lit candles and photos of the victims were.

"What about the Avengers? Can we talk about them?" Harley continues.

"I dunno. Later. Hey kid, give me a little space," Tony demanded, feeling uncomfortable as he gently pushed him away to create a space between them. Why was Harley getting on his personal space, Tony understood that the kid was curious but his questions were starting to make his breathing uneven.

He decided to distract himself by scanning the memorial site, the brick walls were covered with the ashing remains of the explosion victims, they looked like five shadows that resemble bodies., it was creepy to see but intriguing at the same time. Harley approached the area more as Tony talked.

"What's the official story here? What happened?" Tony asks.

"I guess this guy named Chad Davis used to live roundabouts," the boy sat down on the elevated ground created by the explosion's crater and looked at Tony as he spoke, "He won a bunch of medals in the army. And one day, folks said he went crazy and made, you know, a bomb. Then he blew himself up, right here," Harley finished with a somber tone, looking sadly around him.

Tony touched one of the shadows on the wall and then looked around at the offerings that people left that the altar left for the deceased. He had this resented look on his face, feeling slightly haunted just for being here.

"Six people died, right?"

"Yeah," Harley nodded.

"Including Chad Davis?" Tony continued, to make sure he was right.

"Yeah, yeah."

Looking around again, he seemed to think the story was missing a certain element, "Yeah, that doesn't make sense," Tony stated as he sat next to Harley, looking at the boy, "Think about it. Six dead," he then pointed at the dark figures on the wall to make sure Harley understood, "Only five shadows."

But Harley was a smart kid, he had already noticed this, "Yeah. People said these shadows are like the marks of souls going to heaven," Tony looked away from him and made a face when the kid mentioned religion, "Except the bomb guy. He went to hell, on account of he didn't get a shadow. That's why there's only five."

"Do you buy that?" Tony asks, with no intention of making fun of him, just to be sure of what the kid believes in. He and Emma never forced religion onto Primrose, they wanted her to figure it out on her own. Even when Emma's parents insisted for their daughter to be at least baptized, they were against it and in the end, they won.

"Is what everyone says," Harleys replies. And that answer alone made Tony realize that even though this kid was smart, he was still a bit naive. And that was good because he was just eleven years old and he deserved to feel naive before understanding the reality of how harsh the adult world can be.

Tony nodded his head, showing Harley that he was being attentive.

"You know what this crater reminds me of?"

Already knowing what the kid was about to say, Tony began to scowl as he quickly tried to change the subject, "No idea. I'm not–I don't care."

"That giant Wormhole in, um, in New York," Tony closed his eyes as he began to feel his heart pound heavily on his chest, he tried to contain it, "Does it remind you?" Harley questions, cheekily.

Feeling offended, he glared at the boy once he opened his eyes, "That's manipulative. I don't want to talk about it."

"Are they coming back? The aliens?" Harley continues pressing.

"Maybe–Can you stop?!" Tony raised his voice a little to show his urgency in how much nervous Harley's questions were making him. "Remember when I told you that I have an anxiety issue?" he reminded Harley when he saw that the kid dropped his smile.

"Does this subject makes you edgy?" Harley stammered at him.

"Yeah, a little bit," the genius interrupted as the kid tried to continue his questions, "Can I just catch my breath for a second?"

"Are the bad guys in Rose Hill? Do you need–Do you need a plastic bag to breathe into? Do you have medication?" Harley kept asking, genuinely concerned but making Tony even more anxious as he tried to hold himself back from freaking out.

"No," Tony replied shortly as he exhaled through his mouth.

"Do you need to be on it?" Harley continues.

"Probably," he retorted, annoyed.

"Do you have PTSD?"

"I don't think so," Tony replied through gritted teeth as he tried to control his breathing.

"Are you going completely mental?" Harley questions as he places his hand on Tony's arm for comfort, "I can stop. Do you want me to stop?"

"Remember when I said to stop doing that? I swear that you're gonna freak me out," Tony snapped at him with a shaky voice before walking away from him, "Ah, man, you did it, didn't you? You happy now?"

"What did I say?" Harley looked back to Tony running away from the dead-end into the corner of the street while taking his jacket off, "Hey! Wait up! Wait, wait," Tony supported himself on the wall, expression anxious and breathing in an irregular manner, then he fell on a small snowbank and lied down as he tried to control his breathing.

Suddenly, the noise of two quad bikes approached the two and stopped by the curb, making the snow on it be tossed on top of Harley and Tony.

"Hey, Harley! Who's that, your boyfriend?" A boy with dark hair and taller than Harley taunted at the kid, smirking.

Tony frowned, this must be the bully.

Harley seemed surprised for a moment before he finally retorted, "Laugh it up, E.J! You know who this is? This is Tony Stark!"

The genius immediately hid his face with the cap he was using and shook his head at E.J, intending on keeping a low profile.

E.J laughed mockingly, "Tony Stark is dead," and with one last jeered look at the man that looked homeless, the bully and his friend rode their quad bikes away, leaving more snow to be tossed at the two.

"What the hell was that?" Harley exclaimed.

He wanted to ask him that as well, because if that teen boy was his bully then he didn't see the fairness of him bullying a younger kid. What a joke!

Tony could only raise his arm to distant Harley and give him some space. Then, when the kid backed away, he grabbed a handful of snow and started running it all over his face to cool down, when he was done, he tossed it at Harley's face, "Your fault. You spazzed me out," Tony gave the kid a smirk when Harley smiled cheekily at him, "Okay, back to business, where were we?"

Harley shrugged.

Tony sniffs and controls his breathing, "The guy who died. Relatives? Mom? Mrs. Davis, where is she?"

"Where she always is," Harley replies.

"See? Now, you're being helpful," Tony sighs.

Leaving Harley on the opposite street, Tony went to the bar where the eleven-year-old indicated Mrs. Davis would be. But he was oblivious to the fact that a fight awaited him there.

And that his daughter was currently in Miami, inside a cell.

* * *

**_Primrose's POV_ **

She didn't remember falling asleep, but she woke up at the sound of someone passing by. When the memories of where she actually was returned, Primrose jolted into a sitting position right away and was disappointed to see that she didn't dream of being kidnapped. She was still inside the same cell, on the same mattress.

She looked at her cell bars and saw a man staring at her, he had a gun strapped on his belt so Primrose assumed he was one of the guards spread around the area.

"What?" she asked, kind of annoyed, "Never seen a kid?"

The guard simply smirked, and Primrose didn't like it. His expression was smug and the way he looked at her made her feel hopeless. He began walking away, but still giving her a patronizing expression. It made Primrose mad, why did he have to be like that, it was enough that she was kidnapped.

Then she smelled something being burned, and when she looked down, she saw that the hand pressed against the mattress was melting through the fabric and now the springs. Squeaking with surprise, Primrose jumped out of it and stared at her own hand. It was scary how her arm looked, all of her veins connecting from it towards her hand were glowing orange and her skin was completely red, she could feel it now – it burned so much. She tapped on her glowing arm with her other hand and was shocked when she felt no pain or hotness. But it was getting out of control, it was now spreading to her chest and neck, Primrose began panicking as her vision became blurry.

"H-Help! Someone, please! It burns!" she screamed, running towards the cell bars, "IT BURNS!"

The guard that had mocked her approached and his eyes widened at the girl's state, all of her face's veins were now covered with the Extremis serum and her brown pupils were glowing orange. Panicking, he reached into his walkie-talkie.

"We have a situation here, I think Stark's kid is about to explode!" he informed hurriedly.

Growing impatient, and very scared, Primrose reached with her arm for him, "Help me–" suddenly, without realizing how and why, a wave of scalding heat shot through her extended arm and a hot substance that looked like lava directly hit the guard right on his chest, making him howl in pain and fall backward on the floor.

Primrose gasped and backed away immediately, she covered her own mouth with her normal hand and watched with widened, petrified eyes as the guard stopped moving – only a sickening sizzling sound could be heard, and she tried not to think about what it was burning.

The sudden event seemed to have shocked her body into calming down, her arm and hand were no longer glowing, nor it felt hot, and her face and eyes had returned back to how they usually look like. But she didn't care, Primrose couldn't stop staring at the limp form of the guard, lying on the floor. She had backed away from it so far that when her back hit the wall from her cell, her legs began to tremble before they gave up, leaving her to slide down the wall and sit on the floor.

With tears in her eyes, she whined quietly when footsteps approached the cell, she saw more guards surrounded the one she just hurt, and amongst them, Aldrich Killian was also inspecting him.

"He's dead," one guard, a bald one, tell his boss.

And Killian, he huffs before grinning manically at Primrose.

"You naughty girl!" he exclaims, excited.

"No! Wait!" she begins, rising to her feet, "I didn't mean to! I–I–" stammering, Primrose began to feel queasy as soon as she heard it, that guard was dead. She killed him, "Oh my God I-I didn't mean to..." covering her mouth and staring at the floor, Primrose held down the bile that was threatening to come out.

"Oh, no, no! It's okay! Sssh..." Killian began shushing her with a gentle tone, he turned to his henchmen for a moment, "Get him out of here, leave me alone with her!" he barked.

"But sir–" the bald guard quickly shut up when he saw the look Killian gave him, and quickly enough, three guards helped him carry the deceased one out of the area, leaving his boss alone with the girl.

When gone, Killian smiled again, "That was fantastic. Truly, amazing."

Primrose's widened eyes looked at him with shock, "A-Amazing?" she murmured, "Amazing?! I just he's–I KILLED HIM!" she screamed, "I killed him, I–FIRE CAME OUT OF MY ARM! That's not amazing!" sobbing, she approached the cell and stood right in front of him, glaring, "I'm a murderer!"

Killian, unaffected by her outburst, shrugged, "Well, he's a wanted criminal for killing his wife and kids so I'm sure he pretty much deserved it."

Primrose stared at him, her expression haunted.

Rolling his eyes, Killian grabbed the bars of her cell and leaned closer, "Prim, I might've been wrong about you. You're stronger than you look. You were supposed to explode, but instead, you were able to control your Extremis! Don't you see what this means?"

She backed away from him with a disgusted expression on her face, "I killed him..." she mumbled, feeling dreadful.

"Forget that! You're not seeing the picture here, you might be a successful test subject."

"I'm not a test subject!" Primrose screamed, covering her ears and eyes and turning her back on him, "I wanna go home! I want my parents!" she yelled out, crying as she felt that even her tears were now warm as they slid down her cheeks.

"Well boo-hoo, you brat. I changed my mind, I'm not using you to get to your father. I think Pepper is going to be enough," Killian said as he straightened the cuffs on his blazer.

"W-What are you gonna do to me?" Primrose meekly asked, still not looking at him.

Killian was quiet for a moment as if he knew that by not responding he'd only make her even more anxious. Primrose almost turned around to look at him, but she refused to look at his smug face, he was a psychopath and she feared him.

"That, kiddo, is going to be a Christmas surprise."


	32. Worst Christmas Ever - IM3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for skipping a few scenes here, but I just wanted to write with Primrose. I might start writing a spin-off of this fic with the "deleted scenes" that don't have Primrose (but she's still mentioned). What do you think?
> 
> Anyways, this chapter has 11k words, I worked on it for three days. I hope you enjoy it!

__

_**December 25th, 2012  
Location: Noxxon Norco Oil Rig** _

_**2:22 AM** _

_**Primrose's POV** _

"...rose? Wakey wakey, it's Christmas!"

Stirring in her unconscious state, Primrose's first thought was to remember what happened before she was knocked out by a tranquilizer after killing that man. Oh, she killed a man. What day was it?

"Primmy? C'mon, open those gorgeous, chocolate eyes. Uncle Al has his Christmas gift ready for ya!"

That voice sounded sickeningly familiar. Opening her eyes, Primrose's first feeling was that she had no freedom to move – she was strapped on a metallic frame, but what made her panic, even more, was the IV already inserted in her veins. Before Primrose could scream, a woman dressed in a lab coat approached her IV and injected something within the tubes connecting to her veins, the fluid turned bright orange and it made its way inside her body – and as soon as Primrose felt that fluid swim through her veins her body became instantly and painfully hot.

"Surprise!" Killian began, and the eleven-year-old became aware of her surrounding as she fought against the pain. She was no longer in the same area she in that cell – it smelled like she was near the ocean, the salty air, however, didn't contribute to diffuse the burning pain she was facing against, "Since your body reacted so well and accepted the first two doses of the Extremis I injected into you, I decided to test you more and inject you with a third dose! And still" he leered at her, approaching to scan her face and body, "You're still stable!" laughing, as if he had just witnessed an amazing magic trick, Killian backed away from her and clapped his hands twice, like an excited child.

Primrose didn't feel stable, she could barely form the words to express how much she hated this man. All she could do was glare at him, and hope she looked at least intimidating. Just by barely glancing at her exposed arms from wearing a tank top, Primrose could see her veins becoming orange again, and her light skin was reddish – worsening by the second. She was glad there were no mirrors around because she didn't want to look at her eyes.

"Since you've been such a good girl, I got another gift for you, and this one, you'll like!" Killian stated as he turned around towards the entrance of the area, "Bring her in! It's time for another dose!" he ordered with a grin.

Primrose's eyes widened at the sight of Pepper, being wheeled inside with a pained expression because she was also strapped against the frame that Primrose was, behind Pepper, an IV pole was being dragged alongside her, already with a needle inside her vein. Forgetting the pain, the two looked at each other and instantly cried out each other's names.

"Prim! Oh my God!" Pepper cried, tears forming in her eyes, "Oh sweetie..." the strawberry-haired woman was placed next to her, and was staring at Primrose with a tired expression.

"P-Pep..." the little girl sobbed, happy to see her godmother but at the same time, sad about the circumstances.

Their reunion was cut short when the same woman inserted another Extremis dose on Pepper's IV, the CEO winced and looked down, as her head felt heavy, Primrose watched her with worried eyes. Then, she winced when she felt the Extremis enter her body.

"Hi," Killian greeted Pepper, watching her squirm with a smile.

Pepper looked around for a second, staring at Primrose before turning to Killian, "If you think he's going to help you? He won't," she shook her head.

"Having you and little Prim here is not just to motivate Tony Stark. It's, um...Well, it's actually more embarrassing than that. Because Pepper, you're here as my, um..." Killian pretended to think about his next word while looking sheepish.

Primrose didn't like how close he was to her, she tried to struggle against her restraints but they didn't budge.

"Trophy..." Pepper suddenly states at the same time Killian does, she was looking at him with a mildly shocked and disgusted expression, as if she had realized what the whole thing was about, "Then let Primrose go. You have me."

Killian chuckles, "Nice try," he backs away from her and looks at Primrose like a first place price, "No, I have other plans for her. Can't you see? While you can barely handle a dose," Pepper looked between her goddaughter and Killian with a confused and startled expression, "Prim here, has the perfect body to be my perfect Extremis soldier."

"What?!" Pepper exclaimed.

"I know right? I wanted to make Tony watch his little princess here explode but..." suddenly, he stepped forward in front of Primrose and placed a hand on her cheeks, squeezing them together tightly, "Little princess here surprised us all with how well she handled it. Like a big girl," using a patronizing voice, Primrose could only struggle by shaking her hand and try to pry his hand away from her face.

"Don't touch her!" Pepper snarled.

Ignoring her, he continued, "And look at her now. I wonder what will happen if I give you the fourth dose. Or a fifth. Or a sixth!" he whispered, just so Primrose could be the only one to hear him, "I wonder how many doses would take to drive you to insanity. To make you explode," letting go of her face harshly, Primrose started sobbing at once, struggling against her restraints again, "But! I'm not that evil," he chuckled, combing his hair back with his hand and offering Pepper a smile, "No, no, my plans have changed. I no longer will kill Primrose. She's too valuable, her blood is too valuable," he nodded at the woman that had injected the Extremis on both Pepper and Primrose, and she immediately walked up to the little girl with an empty syringe in her hands.

"What are you doing?" Pepper asked fearfully as she watched her goddaughter squeak while the woman took some blood out of her veins.

Killian huffed through his nose, "Thanks to Primrose, I am now closer than ever to create the perfect Extremis. The perfect cure for imperfection. I have taken five blood samples already and tested them on animals. And you know what happened?" he turned to Pepper as he asked.

"Let me guess, they all exploded," Primrose replied instead, making Killian grin and turn to her. The woman was done taking her blood, and she walked away with the syringe filled with Primrose's blood mixed with the Extremis.

"No, five out of those animals, only one was unsuccessful, the other animals grew the limbs that they were born without, and even four hours after the injection they are still stable," he stated happily, enjoying the look of shock that both gave him, "Now think, human trials! This could mean a new beginning!"

"To cure people?" Pepper asked.

"To create the perfect Extremis soldiers! If I mix the Extremis with Primrose's blood, then I will have the perfected injection! No more failed trials, and no more random explosions!" Killian explained passionately.

"You're insane..." Primrose muttered, looking at him with widened, frightened eyes.

Before anyone could say anything else, the Iron Patriot suit walked inside and for a moment, Primrose felt hopeful that Rhodey was inside.

"Good evening, sir," Killian greeted him with a grin.

Then, shockingly, the suit opens and the U.S President Matthew Ellis is released from inside, falling on the floor and glaring at Killian while on his knees.

Pepper and Primrose gasped.

"Welcome aboard Mr. President," Killian said as he saluted the man.

President Matthew looked around in horror and recognition. Killian helped him up and told the President to follow him so he could explain why he was here.

When they were alone, with three guards watching them, Primrose whined as she started feeling her chest getting warmer again, Pepper looked at her worriedly, ignoring her own pain and focusing on her as she watched her goddaughter struggle against her restraints again.

"It burns..." she sobbed, breathing heavily.

Pepper shushed her gently, "It's okay, you're fine Shh your dad will be here any moment."

Primrose looked at her sadly, "Pepper I killed someone..." it was eating her alive, the brunette couldn't keep it hidden anymore, "Fire came out of my hand, and I killed a man," as tears began to follow, Primrose closed her eyes to avoid seeing Pepper's reaction, "I didn't mean to. I burned so much and he wouldn't help me I couldn't control it," sobbing, she felt the restraints around her wrists tightening as her body became weak, "But I killed him. I'm sorry..."

Pepper looked at her with a sad expression, listening to every word and feeling terrible for her. Primrose didn't deserve to suffer like this, "Prim, listen to me," she stopped mid-sentence to groan at the pain the Extremis in her body was putting her through, "You're going to be okay Prim, I promise," Pepper whispered as Primrose let out a shaky breath, "I love you."

"I love you too..."

* * *

**Tony's POV**

After Killian kidnapped him, Tony was furious when he found out that he had taken Pepper and Primrose and injected them with the Extremis. And he had been disgusted when Killian stated what he was going to do with his daughter. When Killian left and he finally escaped from being tied up as his Iron Man suit was finally ready to be used.

He met up with Rhodey at the main house and the two interrogated a British man named Trevor Slattery, an actor with drug addictions and other legal problems, that was approached by Aldrich to pose as the Mandarin. Rhodey was horrified to learn that the Mandarin was this foolish actor but soon enough they managed to gain the information they needed to track down Killian and stop his plan, despite Slattery still remaining confused by the entire situation. It seems that the man really thought everything was all just an act.

With Tony remotely controlling the Mark XLVII armor, Tony couldn't stop Killian from abducting Ellis, however, he did manage to kill Savin for good and save some surviving passengers and crew after the Air Force One exploded in mid-air.

They were able to trace Killian to an impounded oil tanker, the Norco, where Killian intended to kill Ellis on live television. Tony was feeling nauseous because somewhere in this boat, his daughter and his girlfriend were suffering.

When Tony and Rhodey arrived at the oil rig, they both sneaked around on the lower level and then climbed the metallic ladder into the ship. With Rhodey leading the two as he held a gun between his hands, ready to shoot, he walked ahead a bit while Tony climbed behind them. As he waited for his friend, the colonel looked around to see if they had been seen, when he was positive that no one did he turned to his friend.

"Come on!" he whispered, giving Tony the okay.

The two sneaked quickly and stood behind a truck that wasn't being used. They continued looking around, both holding guns for protection.

"You're not gonna freak out on me, right?" Tony asks his friend, "I hope not."

"My goddaughter and friend are in there Tones! I'm not gonna freak out," Rhodey hissed at him, "By the way, where's your friend at? You told me she'd meet us here."

Tony nodded, "She will, she must be already inside. Looking for them."

"Good, that's great, it's a relief," Rhodey sighed, imagining Primrose in pain, "Man, I'm gonna kill him. I can't believe he'd do that to a kid," Rhodey moved forward, standing behind a wall whose level above was filled with blue barrels, possibly filled with oil.

Tony's jaw tensed as he followed his friend, "Yeah, my kid. It's my fault."

The two climbed the wall and moved to stand behind a container, and when they looked over the corner of it, they saw President Ellias strung up over the oil tanker on high air while wearing the Iron Patriot suit, a man was underneath with a camera pointed at him, ready to go live.

Rhodey frowned as he looked up, "Oh my God..." he backed away and returned next to Tony, who was looking around attentively, "He's strung up over the oil tanker. They're gonna light him up, man," he informed the genius with a stressed tone.

"Viking funeral," Tony realizes as he quips, "Public execution," he whispers horrified.

"Yeah, death by oil," Rhodey presses.

The two share a look before moving again, this time running behind a truck that was passing by and using it as coverage. Then, they quickly climbed a staircase to another level.

 _"Broadcast will commence shortly. Take final positions."_  A voice says over the PA.

"Is your gun up?' Rhodey asks as they sneaked around, and Tony immediately puts his gun up.

"'Yep. What do I do?' Tony asks as he aims his gun at random places, it was clear he was a little nervous since he wasn't used to them.

"Stay on my six, cover high and don't shoot me in the back," Rhodey adds quickly because even though his vision was focused ahead of him to avoid being seen, he knew his friend was freaking out with gun on his hand right behind him.

"Six, high, back. All right," Tony repeats quickly, moving his aim to the front.

As they were walking around the corner, they are suddenly shot at by a guard looking over them on the higher ground, and Tony tries to shoot back while Rhodey takes cover, he misses every shot but neither of them gets hit. Both duck behind a generator and stay crouched down while the shooting ceased.

"You see that? Nailed it," he told his friend, heart pounding from the adrenaline.

"Yeah, you really killed the glass," Rhodey replies sarcastically.

"You think I was aiming for the bulb?" Tony quips quickly, "You can't hit a bulb at this distance."

To prove his friend wrong, Rhodey instantly stands up and shoots at the lamp and hits it on his first try, startling the guard next to it and ducking right away to give Tony a smug expression.

 _"All personnel, we have hostiles on east unit 12,"_  Says the voice over the PA.

"I'm out. Give me...You got extra magazines?' Tony asked if he looked at his own gun.

"They're not universal, Tony," he retorted with an annoyed expression.

"I know what I'm going. I make this stuff, give me another one. One of yours."

"I don't have one that fits that gun," Rhodey tries.

"You've got, like, five of them. Heres what I'm going to do," he prepared to stand up, "Save my spot, ready?" he rose to his feet quickly peeked from their cover and ducked down again not even after a second.

"What'd you see?" Rhodey asked.

"Too fast. Nothing," he watched as Rhodey looked at the sky as if he was trying to stay patient, "Here we go," Tony says as he looks out again for a lot longer, "Three guys, one girl, all armed."

They stood up and watched as Extremis soldiers began showing up, even more, outnumbering them.

"God, I would kill for some armor right now," Rhodey comments with a sigh.

"You're right. We need backup," Tony agrees, smiling knowingly.

"Yeah, a bunch," Rhodey adds.

"You know what?" Tony says just as they hear the sound of the Iron Legion suits flying towards them.

"Is that..." the colonel awes, looking up and watching them.

"Yep," Tony confirms.

"Are those..." Rhodey tries again as the suits arrive and surround the place.

"Yeah. Merry Christmas, buddy,"

* * *

**_Primrose's POV_ **

Primrose was in a state where she would black out and regain conscious seconds later, but she didn't feel weak, she was feeling more dizzy than weak and the only thing keeping her sane was Pepper's comforting words. She knew that the adult next to her was also struggling against the virus forcefully injected into her body, but Primrose was still thankful that Pepper was trying her best to remain calm so Primrose would as well.

Both were hopeful that they'd be rescued.

Suddenly, they heard a grunt to their left. All of the Extremis soldiers watching over them had left in a hurry because of an emergency, but one stayed behind to watch over them. That guard was now on the floor, unconscious, and standing next to his body was no other than Natasha Romanoff, looking at the two with a saddened expression.

"Nat!" Pepper cried, feeling beyond relief to see her.

"Ms. Romanoff..." Primrose couldn't help but smile weakly at the sight of the agent.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here any sooner, but at least Stark and his friend were able to get all the attention to them, so getting here was easier," Natasha explained as she, dressed in her SHIELD uniform, approached the two. However, she paused to give Primrose a second look, and the dark look on her face wasn't directed at the little girl, "дерьмо!" she hissed as she began trying to pry her from the restraints.

Primrose had no idea what Natasha said, but it did sound like a curse, "Hi..." she whispered, "How did you find us?"

Natasha gave her a pained smile, "Hi..." this was not good, not at all, "Your mom, she called me because you disappeared. Then I called your dad, and he told me everything," Natasha growled with frustration when the restraints weren't moving, "Something tells me you two have the virus in your system. And by looking at the orange skin, I'm betting you need to stay calm," she looked at Pepper, who nodded at her, "Okay, so first I'll–"

Before Natasha could finish, something crashed into the rig, causing an explosion that quickly destroyed the area where the three were. As they were tossed aside from the explosion waves, Natasha grabbed hold on Primrose's frame and got ready for the impact as both slammed against the wall on the other side. Primrose cried and Natasha grunted as she let go of the frame and fell on the floor, clutching to her side ribs. The good news was, Primrose was free from her restraints, the bad news: she melted her wrists through them.

Coughing from the dusty air that was settling, Primrose realized there that she was free to walk around. But Natasha was done, with her ribs possibly broken and Pepper – Primrose gasped, Pepper was still underneath the pile of debris that fell on her after the explosion.

"Ms. Romanoff!" she crouched down and helped the agent rise to her feet, the redhead grunted with pain but her expression remained stoic as she looked down at her, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "I'm fine, get Pepper," Natasha huffed as Primrose helped her lean against the wall for some support.

Just as Primrose ran towards the pile that was holding Pepper down, she was startled when an Iron Man suit stepped inside through a hole caused by the explosion.

"P-Prim?!"

It was her dad's voice, definitely.

"DADDY!" she screamed, running towards him and hugging his suit, "Dad! I'm so happy to see you, honestly, but you need to help me! Pepper is down there!" quickly letting go of him, Primrose thought to have a proper reunion when the time called. Right now, the bad guy was still lurking and Pepper needed help.

"R-Right!" a little fazed by his daughter's ability to remain focused while after being kidnapped and forcefully drugged with a dangerous virus, Tony was guided to where Pepper was.

"About time!" Natasha yelled from the other side of the room, she began walking towards them, feeling better, "What the hell, Stark? Did you cause the explosion?"

"Good to see you too Nat, you look great. Amazing," Tony quickly quipped, feeling a little sheepish because of what he caused.

When Primrose points at Pepper, Tony's heart sinks when he sees her trapped underneath some metal rubble, he immediately tries to lift it from her but Pepper stops him.

"Stop! Put it down. Put it down. Put it down," Pepper cries urgently as it begins to get worse.

He crouched down and opened the face from his suit to look at her, "See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends?" Tony quips as he offers his arm.

Primrose rolls her eyes but smiles at the exchange, she feels Natasha place a hand on her shoulder and bring her closer to her in a protective manner as if she was scared something would go wrong.

"You're such a jerk," Pepper whispers while wincing in pain.

"Yep. Well, talk about it over dinner," Tony retorts, reaching with his arms towards her even further and starting to feel more nervous.

Primrose heard Pepper cry, she couldn't see her, but it seems that her godmother was trying to reach for her dad as well from the movements her dad was making.

"Come on. A little more, baby," Tony begs as they try to reach for each other.

Suddenly, a hand full of Extremis bursts through the floor, grabbing the arc reactor from the suit and destroying it by crushing it with the hand. Primrose screams with horror as Tony falls over and Killian climbs through. Natasha immediately pushes Primrose behind her back and aims her gun at Killian with an angry scowl.

"Step down Killian!" she barks at him.

He huffed, a little out of breath from using his Extremis and climbing to here. But he did give Natasha an odd look, "Well hello there, who might you be?" then he looked at Pepper and raised an eyebrow, "Are they bothering you?"

Primrose peeked at her dad from standing behind Natasha and she couldn't help but to want to run to him and make sure he was fine.

Killian completely ignored Natasha, "Don't get up," Killian says as Tony tries to get up but is pinned down by him, who begins to heat up his suit with a finger.

Natasha had enough, she began shooting and aimed for his head. But Killian didn't even blink as he heated up his skin and melted the bullets when they touched him. She shot until she was out of ammo, and the look of realization that this was a battle she couldn't win was enough to make Killian cackle.

"Extraordinary, isn't it?" he then looked at Primrose, who glared at him in exchange, "Hi, Primmy, good to see that you're unharmed. Now if you please step away from the lady, or..." heating his finger and burning the suit further, Primrose cringed when her dad started breathing heavily.

"O-Okay..." Primrose took three steps away from Natasha, and as soon as she did, Killian then shot a fireball at the agent through his mouth. Of course that the damage became non-lethal because Natasha was a trained spy and knew how to survive, she quickly jumped to the opposite side of where Primrose was and took cover behind the metallic debris that was pinning Pepper to the floor.

Killian tilted his head, impressed, "Oh, wow, who is she?" he looked at Primrose questionably but all he got from her was another glare, shrugging with the response, he turned his attention back to Tony because he hadn't stop heating his suit, and the genius was starting to sweat, "Ooh. Is it hot in there? Stuck? Do you feel a little stuck? Like a little turtle, cooking in his little turtle suit," Killian mocks as the suit begins to glow.

Pepper was watching them worriedly, "Oh... Tony..."

Primrose had a determined look on her face as she began to back away and reach for something near her. She was getting tired of seeing her dad suffer, she was able to spot Natasha hiding behind a desk, recharging her gun and putting a new magazine in it.

"She's watching," Killian continued, "I think you should close your eyes," he advised, "Close your eyes. You don't want to see this," Killian says as he then pulls his arm back to finish Tony off, but as he does Primrose screams and runs at him while infusing a fallen pipe with her own Extremis to heat it up and impale it on Killian's ribs, the man yells out in pain and shock.

"That's for Pepper and Ms. Romanoff!" the eleven-year-old growls out as she backs away from him and watches him take the pipe out of his body.

As Killian got distracted, Tony used that opportunity to release a long knife from his suit and cut the lower half of Killian's arm that was about to kill him off. The armless man groans in pain from both injuries and stands up to fall backward as the Extremis in his body began regenerating his missing limb.

"Yeah, you take a minute," Tony snarks at him, then he looked at his daughter with a shocked expression, "And you, I don't know if I'm either scared of proud of what you just did, young lady."

Natasha walked up behind Primrose, smiling.

"Why not both?" his daughter quipped while shrugging.

The moment was cut short when the arm that Tony cut from Killian began to burn through the floor near Pepper, suddenly opening a hole under her and making her fall down through the floor and end up hanging off the oil rig by her arms.

"Pepper!" Primrose gasped, and Natasha had to hold her back before she went after her.

Tony got out of his suit and looked down to see her being taken somewhere else as the rig began moving. He looked at Natasha and the redhead nodded, "I'll watch her, go!" she tossed an earpiece at him.

Without any other confirmation and grabbing it, Tony began running after Pepper, out of the room. And Natasha, hearing some footsteps approaching them, quickly led Primrose into hiding behind the wall of the hole where Tony exited from. The guards passed by them, going after him, and when the coast was clear the two made their way out of the container and through the corridors around the ship.

"What's the plan?" Primrose whispered as the agent lead them with her gun ready to fire, they stopped on a corner and Natasha pressed her fingers on her lips, signalizing that she wanted her to be quiet.

Primrose obeyed, but she also noticed that some of her dad's suits were flying around. He must've brought the Iron Legion to help.

Before the two continued on, one of the Mark suits landed behind them, startling both. But Natasha quickly recognized Stark's suit and placed her gun down, however, the suit aimed its machinery at Primrose and when the redhead realized what was about to happen, she quickly grabbed Primrose's wrist and ran away as the suit began firing against her.

"What is happening?!" Primrose squealed as the suit stalked right behind them, firing non-stop.

"DAMMIT! Stark!" Natasha poked her earpiece, "PICK UP!" she yelled as both skimmed-through the halls, avoiding the blasts coming from behind them, "Your daughter is being attacked by your own suit, FIX IT!"

 _"Oh shi–JARVIS BE AWARE THAT PRIM IS INFECTED AS WELL! SHE IS NOT A TARGET!"_ Primrose heard her dad yell through Natasha's earpiece.

Immediately, the stomping behind them ceased and hesitantly, they stopped running as well and looked behind to see the suit retracting the machinery.

 _"Terribly sorry Ms. Evans-Stark, Ms. Romanoff. I am delighted to see you're all right,"_  JARVIS stated before flying off to deal with other Extremis soldiers.

The two remained silent before Primrose huffed through her nose, "I'm hurt. He didn't recognize me?"

"Maybe it's because of the Extremis?" Natasha suggested as the two continued running, but this time, not for their lives.

Natasha led Primrose down the staircases until they reached the lower level of the ship, there was a battle happening up from them and Primrose couldn't help to look around, hoping to see her dad or Pepper all right. Natasha suddenly began shooting at a woman that had spotted them, the woman had clear Extremis in her body as her eyes glow red and her veins glowed orange. She was using the virus inside her body to hop from container to container with the help of her newfound strength, she easily landed in front of the two with a smirk as the bullets from Natasha's gun melted through her skin.

Sensing a deja-vu, Primrose knew that Natasha's weapon was useless against people with the Extremis, so she quickly came up with an idea and ran towards a place while Natasha pursued towards the soldier, using her combat skills and electrifying gloves as best as she could. Primrose climbed a ladder from a container and stood on it as she watched the two fight, waiting for the right moment. She started breathing heavily, concentrating hard enough on the woman and considering what she was about to do.

 _'This woman is bad. She's trying to kill you and Ms. Romanoff,'_  she told herself. And then, she let her own Extremis take over her body willingly, it was time to prove if Killian was right or not. The woman won the fight and kicked Natasha away, the agent fell on the floor violently and grabbed hold over her already broken ribs, coughing out blood, Natasha looked up to see the woman approaching while turning her own arm into a burning blade shaped limb, and when she was about to strike Primrose jumped from the container and landed on the woman's back, bringing them both on the floor at the Extremis soldier faceplanted it with a scream.

"I'm sorry!" Primrose cried before placing her hand on the woman's back, directly behind her heart, and directing all of her Extremis heat into her palm – eventually melting through the woman's skin and muscles and creating a hole that burned until she felt the soldier's heart, then Primrose squeezed it with her own hands and melted it until there was nothing. Gasping with horror as she felt it, Primrose quickly got off the woman and crawled away, avoiding looking at the scene she just created like it was nothing. Her palm still burned and her entire right arm was covered with the recognizable orange veins and reddened skin.

Natasha looked at Primrose with a shocked expression, did she just witnessed this innocent little girl punch a hole through that woman's chest? Yes, she did. And she also knew that Primrose just saved her life, but got possibly traumatized by doing it so. Standing up, she quietly walked towards her and heard her sobbing as she tried to hide her face from the world. Natasha remember her first kill, she also had been horrified by her actions but could not show it, this was a little girl that had been sheltered all her life. And Natasha sighed sadly at how small the shaking eleven-year-old looked right now. This has definitely been a tough year for Primrose, but as a sudden explosion coming from where the President was hanging reminded, this was no time for coddling.

"Prim, you did nothing wrong," Natasha began, quickly, "You saved me. That woman was about to kill me without any hesitation," she crouched down next to Primrose and wrapped her arms around her, bringing her close to a side hug, "You saved me, милая..." she insisted.

"I-I'm a killer..." Primrose cried, "First that man and now her! I'm–I'm going to prison!" even though explosions and the sound of the Iron Suits attacking various Extremis soldiers, she couldn't help to finally break down.

"No, you're not," Natasha grabbed her shoulder and gently made Primrose look at her, "Listen to me, you are everything but a killer. I don't know about this man, but I'm sure you didn't mean to. All I know is that you saved my life, and I am in debt with you. You're a lifesaver, not a murderer," she lifted Primrose's chin and looked into the little one's eyes, giving her a genuine expression of honesty.

"How am I gonna tell my dad? And my mom?" Primrose asked with a meek tone.

"In a composed manner, but we need to leave now or else you won't be able to see them again," Natasha told her as she helped her up, she pulled her into another hug afterward, "And I mean it, I owe you."

Primrose sniffed and Natasha watched in awe as the tears that she once shed sizzled and evaporated on the little girl's skin, "Okay, let's go."

 _"Hey guys, the president is secure and I'm clearing the area,"_  Rhodey's voice suddenly said through her earpiece.

"Got it," she replied before turning to Primrose, "That was Colonel Rhodes, saying that the president is safe, see? Everything is going well." and at the same time, they saw Iron Patriot carrying a screaming President Ellias away from the area, towards the city.

"Well, at least he's safe?" Primrose commented on the screaming.

They continued on until they reached the bottom of the oil rig where the President used to be hanging from, it was now a violent fire that was spreading quickly, and Primrose couldn't help to think how her Uncle Rhodey caused that and still managed to save the President without the suit. No one seemed to be around, but Natasha as quick to point up when she saw Tony and Pepper dangling for her life.

"Oh my God!" Primrose whispered, hoping that her dad would save Pepper in time, like always.

But to both horror, they watched the oil rig suddenly shake and Pepper lose her grip. She fell to her demise as a huge flame erupts from the bottom of the oil rig and engulfs her body completely. Primrose screams just as she watched her godmother's body disappear in the fire.

Natasha wasn't quick enough to grab Primrose when the little one started running towards the fire, not believing that her godmother was actually dead. Natasha obviously ran after her, hoping to catch her just in time, but she watched as Primrose managed to run through the wall made of fire while the redhead instantly covered her face and winced at the heatwaves it was producing – and she wasn't even that near it.

"PRIMROSE!" Natasha called, but she was gone. Primrose was inside that fire and Natasha couldn't follow her without being burned alive.

Unbeknown to the two, Tony had seen everything. He even yelled out his daughter's name but no one heard them from up there. He hopelessly watched as the two loves of his life were swarmed by the fire. His expression became stony and inconsolable. When he heard Killian's steps approaching him from behind, because he knew the bastard could come to gloat, Tony Stark saw red.

Meanwhile, inside the fire, Primrose was avidly searching for any signs of Pepper. She quickly realized as her clothes were on fire but her skin was not, Pepper might've survived the fall if Primrose was being able to walk on literal fire. Between constantly putting out the small flames that were destroying her clothes to avoid getting naked, she walked around the rig and attentive eyes.

Then she saw her. Or at least, her legs. Pepper was lying between two burning barrels and the flames around her only allowed Primrose to see her legs. Quickly enough, she ran towards her and pulled her from the heating waves before the Extremis inside Pepper's body overheated and exploded. She kept dragging her and frowned when she noticed that Pepper's hair had been burned into nothing – but strangely enough, as soon as she kept on dragging Pepper from the flames, it seemed that the Extremis began working on re-growing the strawberry-hair back into its originality form. Which was a relief

Primrose dragged her into an area where there was almost no fire, she hid them behind a fallen container and rested Pepper's back against it, sitting her down.

"Pepper?" she called gently, shaking her a bit, "Please, wake up" she begged, shaking her again. Looking around, Primrose saw no signs of Natasha or her dad. She was alone now, "Pepper, please! Wake up!" Primrose began shaking her body even harder now, almost desperately.

She was startled when there was a sudden explosion on top of her head and when she looked up, one of the cranes from the oil rig completely blew up and was on its way on falling down to right where they were. Screaming, she covered her head and felt many heavy objects fall around her, bits of the explosion's fire creating another one on the area they were hiding. And to her surprise, she heard a familiar voice grunting while the sound that she recognized from childhood belonging to a Mark suit landing on the floor. Opening her eyes, she was shocked to see so many Iron Man suit pieces around her, all of them missing certain limbs, it was kinda creepy to see.

She gasped when the container that she was hiding behind was split in half, almost hitting her and Pepper and only missing them by centimeters, her heart began hammering loudly on her chest as she realized how lucky they were.

Standing up with wobbly knees, she managed to walk forward by leaning against the burning container and peeked around its corner to see what was happening now. Primrose's grinned when she saw her dad, on the floor and staring at a burning Iron Man head with a tired expression. She was about to make herself present when she heard a grunt that sent chills down her spine.

Aldrich Killian emerged from the flames, limping towards her terrified dad. He no longer looked human, his skin was decaying as it looked burnt into crisp, ember eyes stared at her dad with pure hatred and ill intention. Primrose was frozen, should she try and fight Killian? Her dad began backing away from him, with no suit or way of protecting.

Primrose felt hopeless, she was so scared of Killian.

"No more false faces," Killian spat, "You said you wanted the Mandarin. You're looking right at him," he wheezed, his voice didn't sound human at all. It was like he was struggling to speak, "It's always been me, Tony, right from the start," he then raised his arms widely and snarled, "I am the Mandarin!"

Suddenly, Primrose gasped as Pepper suddenly hit Killian in the head with a piece of a long pipe. She turned her head towards the place where she left an unconscious Pepper and was surprised to see it empty. When did she wake up?! Primrose shook her head, not caring anymore. She approached the two quickly and Tony startled himself with hearing Primrose's steps, of course, he relaxed as soon as he realized they belonged to his daughter, so he just gave Pepper an awed expression. He thought he had lost the two, and now there they were, right with him.

Pepper looked angry, her arms were glowing red and the irises of her eyes had a faint, but visible red in them. She was staring right at Tony, who was still looking at her agape and with a shocked expression to what he just witnessed.

"I got nothing," he finally stated, not breaking his eyes contact.

"Smart move, dad," Primrose nodded, looking at Pepper with admiration.

Suddenly, an Iron Man suit came flying around the corner and both Starks and Pepper looked up while Killian recovered and stood up, glaring hatefully at Pepper.

"JARVIS, subject at twelve o'clock is not a target, just like I told you with Prim! Disengage!" Tony tried to order the A.I controlling the suit., but when reached for his own earpiece, Tony realized he wasn't wearing it – it was on the ground, right next to Primrose's feet.

She widened her eyes in realization and bent down to grab it and put it in her own ear, but it was too late, she was grabbed protectively by her dad when the Iron Suit shot a blast at Pepper, who dodged it with a startled expression. As the suit passed by her in the air and began turning around to take another shot, Pepper glared at Tony and growled with frustration.

"What?" as his girlfriend began approaching him, "Oh, what, are you mad at me?" he stuttered when she ran towards him, he flinched and covered his face but instead of hitting him, Pepper used his knee to jump in the air and punch through the Iron Man suit incoming right on its chest, then she turned her body in the air and landed right in front of the two shocked Stark while pinning it underneath her.

Primrose then watched her awesome godmother take her arm out of the chest plate and shove it on the suit's now torn apart arm, fitting it in hers. And just as Primrose noticed Killian about to attack Pepper, she used her new Iron Man's arm to swipe at the insane man and shove him far away as he twirled in the air from the brutal contact.

"Woo!" Tony cried with surprised.

"Go, Pepper!" Primrose cheered as a grin took over her lips.

After Killian landed rather violently on the ground, Pepper was quick to think as the Extremis virus shone throughout her body and eyes and when a missile dropped out of the suit's arm she was using, she instantly kicked it towards Killian as the man was about to stand up again and without hesitation, she shot a blast towards it with the arm and exploded it right in Aldrich Killian's face – Primrose gulped, he was definitely dead now.

She was about to check on her godmother, stepping to get near her, but Tony rose an arm in front of her and stopped her, signalizing it might not be a good idea just yet. Primrose nodded and stepped back, and as her dad began approaching Pepper instead, she heard footsteps coming from behind her. Natasha grunted as she walked to stay next to the eleven-year-old, the two looked at each other and instantly smiled, relieved to see one another.

"Honey?" her dad began as he stood up, he was looking at Pepper cautiously but not because he was afraid of her, he didn't want her to stress about what she just did and activate her Extremis to the point of exploding herself.

Pepper looked back at the destruction area that she caused, where Killian died, and her expression showed remorse and shock, "Oh my God," she looked back at Tony, breathing heavily, "That was really violent."

"You just scared the devil out of me. I thought you were..." Tony began, his voice was shaky but he kept steading himself over it.

"I was dead," Pepper quickly prompted, "Why? Because I fell two-hundred feet?" she quipped sarcastically at him.

Tony didn't reply, but he did raise his arm at her while nodding with a 'well, obviously' expression.

She looked around her, and her blue eyes glanced between Primrose and Natasha, the two women nodded, acknowledging each other. Pepper really owed her for keeping Primrose safe and she would thank her later. And Primrose just saved her life as well, although unconscious at the time, Pepper knew that she had fallen on a sea of fire that would've ended up killing her by overheating her Extremis – if it wasn't for her goddaughter, she'd be looking like Killian right now.

Turning back to Tony with a small smirk, she was quick to quip again, "Who's the hot mess now?"

Primrose smiled and Natasha rolled her eyes, she placed her finger on her earpiece and stepped away to give the three space as she clutched over her broken ribs while informing, "Killian is down, I repeat, Killian is down," she was probably telling that to Rhodey but Primrose stopped paying attention when her dad spoke.

"Still debatable," he retorted, "Probably tipping your way a little bit," Primrose walked up to him and stood next to her dad while holding his earpiece, he placed a palm in front of her and wordlessly, she placed it on it for him to put it on his ear, "Why don't you dress like this at home? Hmm?" he asked while inserting it. Primrose knew he was just trying to diffuse the situation but she couldn't help to give him a tired look, "Sports bra. The whole ordeal."

"You know, I think I understand why you don't want to give up the suits," Pepper stated as she looked at her own arms, "What am I going to complain now?" she looked at him with a weary expression, and Tony just returned with a thoughtful one.

"How about how much he didn't spend time with me?" Primrose quickly quipped, only mildly serious.

Pepper chuckled weakly at that, while Tony smiled before sighing. His daughter was right, he had a lot to make up for her. Especially now, since she had been kidnapped and basically tortured just because she was his daughter. And this is a terrible way for a kid to spend Christmas, he was going to spoil her after this shitty situation is resolved. And also praise her for being so brave and unbeknown to him, for saving two lives in a night.

"Well, besides that, it's me," he glanced between the two most special women in his life, "You'll think of something," he smiled at Pepper as he was now almost face to face to her.

Natasha walked up to Primrose again, watching the scene. She had just informed Rhodes and Director Fury about the controlled situation and she was not needed here anymore, her mission was complete. But Natasha didn't feel like this had been a mission, this felt personal. Primrose had crawled into her heart and tonight, Natasha was even prepared to die for her. She was becoming attached, that could be a bad thing for the SHIELD agent.

When Pepper realized that Tony was about to touch her, she flinched back with a scared expression, "No, touch don't me!" she warned.

"Dad–" Primrose began. She still remembers how her own hands were able to melt through people, and imagining Pepper accidentally killing her dad after all that fighting and killing wasn't how Primrose wanted her Christmas to end like.

"It's okay–" he told Primrose before directing his attention to a nervous looking Pepper, "Don't worry about it."

"Stark, you think it's a good idea?" Natasha asked while rising her perfect eyebrow, "No offense Pepper," she quickly added.

"I got this," Tony insisted as he touched Pepper's arm.

"I'm gonna burn you!" Pepper cried, her eyes widening as she watched the genius touch her exposed torso with fear.

"No, you're not," he continued, and he was right. Her skin wasn't burning him.

Pepper looked at his hands touching her with a perplexed expression, she wasn't burning him! She felt so relieved. Primrose huffed through her mouth and shook her head, sometimes her dad could be too much of a daredevil.

"Not hot," he told Pepper with a gentle voice as he grabbed hold of her arm as lightly as he could, afraid to break or hurt the woman that he thought he'd lost.

"Am I gonna be okay?" Pepper asked, but then she glanced at Primrose and sobbed, "Are  _we_  gonna be okay?!" the two shared a look and Primrose didn't hesitate when she approached the two and wrapped her arms around her godmother's waist. Pepper was quick to put her hand on the brunette's back and pull her closer.

Natasha watched them with an unreadable expression.

Tony paused as he brought to two closer to him, God he almost lost them, he wanted someone to knock him in the head and scold him until his ears burned. Emma would probably do that, if she blamed him for this he'd feel much better because he deserved to be blamed for his daughter's suffering and his girlfriend's stress over their relationship. But right now he needed to calm them down, remain passive about the situation.

"No," he began, just to throw them off, "You're in a relationship with me and Prim is my daughter. Everything will never be okay. But I think I can figure this out, yeah," he finally replied, easing Pepper into a weak chuckle over his witted response and making Primrose chuckle weakly as she looked up at him while still hugging Pepper, "I almost had this twenty years ago when I was drunk. I think I can get you two better," he promised while staring at Pepper intently.

Pepper returned it with her blue eyes looking hopeful into his dark brown ones, and Primrose could only sniff as the adrenaline started to fade in her body.

"That's what I do. I fix stuff," her dad added. He was a mechanic.

"We are not stuff, daddy, we're people," Primrose quipped weakly.

Pepper and Tony shared a knowing smile and she couldn't help but start patting her goddaughter's hair to comfort her, "And all your distractions?" she wondered, making sure Tony understood what she was talking about.

"Uh..." Tony stuttered, "I'm gonna shave them down a little bit," and to prove he was being honest, he began talking to the A.I through his earpiece, "JARVIS. Hey," he poked it a few times to make sure it was working.

 _"All wrapped up here, sir. Will there be anything else?"_  JARVIS inquired politely.

"You know what to do," Tony stated as he looked at Pepper earnestly, knowing that his A.I was smart enough to realize what he meant by listening to their conversation.

 _"The clean slate protocol, sir?"_  JARVIS asked with a hesitant tone.

Tony looked unsure for a moment as well, "Screw it, it's Christmas. Yes, yes," he confirmed with a tired voice. Then, he pulled Pepper and Primrose towards him and the three shared a collective hug as the little girl placed each arm around her dad and godmother, bringing them close to her as well.

Natasha didn't know what was happening, but then she looked up when one of the Iron Suits just casually flying around exploded mid-air. She blinked but then smirked at the three, Stark was sacrificing his Iron Legion just to make Pepper and Primrose happy – perhaps she judged him too quickly.

Primrose was awed, she couldn't believe what was about to begin. As she heard Pepper gasp with a smile, the two watched as the all of the Mark suits began self-destructing – all of the hours that her dad spent on them instead of her were gone. It was kinda sad to see, but at the same time, Primrose wished them good riddance even though they were built to protect. Her dad seemed to be hiding his face in the hug, she felt bad for him but Primrose understood why he didn't want to watch all of his babies get destroyed like that.

Primrose realized, after many minutes around the area, that the giant structure next to them was covered with Christmas lights, and that on top of it, was a big, shining star. And as one of the suits exploded beneath it, she grinned, "Merry Christmas!" Primrose shouted happily, making Pepper laugh and Tony smile a little.

Tony kissed Pepper's cheek twice, "Okay so far?" he asked before looking down at his daughter, "Y'all like it?"

Pepper's response was to pull him closer into the hug while Primrose snuggled against his stomach, happy to be able to touch him after all those days in captivity. It was honestly adorable that her dad actually wanted a sincere reply from the two, he could buy all the gifts in the world but when it came to actually give them, her dad could be a nervous wreck until he found out if you love it or not.

"It'll do," Pepper sighed emotionally.

Tony smiled at her answer, and the three continued hugging until it was over. Natasha watched them, and her expression shifted into a contented one. She was glad that in the end, they were all safe. She let them have the moment for five more minutes before telling them they had to go because police would be there any moment and she had to depart for her next assignment.

The three left on a jet boat that she had brought to infiltrate the ship and she drove them to the mainland where Rhodey and the President were, sitting on the dock and talking with each other while they waited. The FBI was on its way to secure President Ellias but meanwhile, Primrose felt awestruck at the sight of him and actually didn't hesitate on asking him a lot of questions, to which the commander-in-chief was happy to reply to.

When he was taken away, and after inviting Primrose to visit the White House, Natasha bid her goodbyes to the four and wished them good luck and a Merry Christmas.

Primrose hugged Natasha and Tony thanked her for the help. The spy managed to ruffle Primrose's hair before leaving them at the dock and disappearing into the middle of the night, towards D.C where she couldn't help to look at Steve's face when she tells her about the short mission she just had. Natasha was no fool, she knew the soldier had grown fond of the little girl and she was sure that if she knew that Primrose had been in danger he'd volunteer to help. But SHIELD was keeping him in D.C for other, more important missions. Natasha, of course, thought that this assignment had been as important.

The smile on Primrose's face was worth the trip.

* * *

_And so, as Christmas morning began, my journey had reached its end. You start with something pure, something exciting. Then, come the mistakes. The compromises._

As soon President Ellias returned, he informed all personnel about Vice-President Rodriguez involvement with the Mandarin and the man was arrested on sight, guilty of treason against his own country. And Rhodey watched as the man passed by while staring at the colonel. He held an apprehensive expression.

_We create our own demons._

Emma watched as an actor named Trevor Slattery was getting arrested by being connected to Aldrich Killian, the real Mandarin, and murdering a man. He wouldn't get the time in jail he was supposed to since he was oblivious to the whole ordeal and there was evidence that he thought he had just been hired to act, but still – Emma glared at the man and thought how stupid could someone be.

_As promised, I got Pepper sorted out. But I'm still working on Prim, it seems that her blood is not accepting getting rid of the Extremis that easily. It will take some tinkering but I promise on my life that I will help her. But then I thought to myself, 'Why stop there?'_

* * *

**_December 28th, 2012_ **

Pepper, Emma, Rhodey, and Primrose watched anxiously from the outside window of the operating room as Tony undergoes through the surgery to remove the shrapnel embedded near his heart. Rhodey has an arm wrapped around Emma and Pepper looked healthier while she was holding an anxious-looking Primrose. He looked at them before the anesthesia knocked him out and managed to give them a thumbs up, to make sure his family knew that everything was going to be okay.

_Of course, there are people who say progress is dangerous, but I'll bet none of those idiots ever had to live with a chestful of shrapnel. And now, neither will I._

The surgery was a success.

_Let me tell you, that was the best sleep I had in years._

* * *

The relationship between Tony and Pepper was improving as the man kept his word and began investing more time for them. Tony even got her a ruby necklace while they were on a date and Pepper couldn't help to feel loved by him, more than ever.

* * *

Emma smiled as she leaned on the doorway, Tony and Primrose seemed to be building a Lego Hogwarts Castle and enjoying every moment of it. With Primrose's patient and his knack for building the two make a great team. He has been spending more time with his daughter, and Emma was proud of that. After getting Primrose back, Emma swore to never leave her out of her sight without being able to contact her so she began talking with Tony over the possibility of them buying her a phone.

Tony said he'd make one for her, and then the three had ice cream while watching Youtube videos of people failing at life and laughing together about it.

* * *

Happy woke up from his coma on New Year's Eve, and as soon as the hospital alerted Tony he was there with Prim, Pepper, Rhodey, and Emma by his side and the group all welcomed him back to life. Happy was thankful and secretly giddy about the attention he was getting but when he was told what happened with Primrose was Pepper he was ready to go fight a dead man named Killian. Tony then thanked his driver/bodyguard turned head of the security at Stark Enterprises. If it wasn't for his quick thinking after the Chinese Theater's explosion he would've never had the first clue to connect the dots about Killian's Extremis project.

Forgetting his anger and concerns, Happy acted smug afterward. But became quickly humble and almost cried right there when Primrose gave him a drawing of him punching Savin in the face and saving the day.

* * *

Tony told Primrose about Harley Keener. And asked her if she wanted to meet the kid since he was about to travel back to Rose Hill to properly thank him for helping and give him a place to hide during his short staying there.

Curious about the boy, Primrose accepted her dad's offer and the two flew to Rose Hill in his private jet and had the permission from his absent mother to build a high-tech lab on the shed that only her son used to tinker. Primrose looked around when her dad was done, she was surprised that he actually gave Harley a car – she didn't know much about him but her dad did tell her he was eleven, just like her. So where was her car?

He included a gaming corner with a free snacks machine, the best computers someone could own and a proper working-table for the kid to use while tinkering. When Primrose saw her dad place a Dora the Explorer digital watch on one of the desks, she got winked by her dad as a reply when she asked why he had bought it.

"It's his sister's. I broke it, so I bought a new one," he said after placing the Mark II potato gun on a display.

Primrose looked at it with a curious look, "Cool."

Suddenly, the shed's entrance opened and the two Starks turned around to see Harley walking in, but halting his steps to gawk at his surroundings. His eyes were roaming everywhere, and as they did his smile would widen further from excitement.

"Holy crap" Harley gasped as he closed the door behind him and tossed his school backpack aside, "Tony you're back–did you do this?" he quickly looked at Primrose, "Oh, hi! You must be the artist daughter! I'm Harley," he greeted quickly, almost without breathing.

"Relax kid, breathe. Yes, I did this, as a thank you. Primrose, meet Harley, my sidekick."

Harley gave him a look, "I'm not your sidekick, we're partners," he grinned sheepishly at her, "Nice to meet you!"

Primrose smiled, she liked the energetic vibe Harley gave off, "Nice to meet you too, Harley!" she nervously offered him her hand for him to shake. She wasn't used to talking with kids her age, with the exception of Hanae and some of her Karate classmates.

Harley looked at her hand with an odd expression, but then he shrugged and shook it, "Are you guys staying for dinner?"

Tony shook his head, "Nah kid, sorry. Too soon," he smirked at the feigned disappointed expression Harley began to pull, "You can let go of her hand now," he quickly added, feeling a little protective. He reminded himself they were just kids, there was no need to think about them being hormonal teenagers just yet.

"Oh, sorry–" Harley began, pulling his arm away while Primrose giggled, "I never shook someone's hand before, that was a rush," he joked, grinning at her laughter. Harley liked making people happy, especially the daughter of Tony Stark and his little sister, Marian.

"It's okay! I hope you like your new garage," she said while looking around, "I'm kinda jealous."

"Well, you can visit any time!" Harley suggested, giving her a friendly smile.

"Really? Thanks, Harley!" she smiled back.

Tony watched the two with a soft expression, he knew they'd get along and his daughter needed more friends her age. This could be the start of a good friendship or a headache – only time would know.

After getting to know each other a bit more and promises of hanging out were made, Tony and Primrose left Rose Hill and made their way back to New York.

* * *

Tony and Primrose re-visited where their home in Malibu used to be. It was kind of disheartening to see her house not there, knowing that part of it was at the bottom of the ocean.

As they both held hands and reached the area where the entrance used to be, right of the edge of the cliff. Primrose couldn't help to tear up a little bit at the sight of the nonexisting house, she lost a lot. Tony pulled her closer while his free arm carried the now useless arc reactor.

"It's gonna be okay," he promised her.

And she believed him.

Her father let go of her and approached the cliff even further, she remained behind him for safety and watched as her dad took the arc reactor from the bag to toss it towards the ocean. He turned around and his serious expression softened when his daughter was smiling proudly at him. Holding her hand again, the two made their way back. But her dad suddenly stopped when he looked down at a patch of weed outgrowing the tiles.

_So if I were to wrap this up, tie it with a bow, or whatever I guess I'd say my armor, it was never a distraction. Or a hobby._

Both Starks looked at the object caught from the floor and Primrose realized it was a small screwdriver – it made her dad smile, so she did as well. He kissed it as if he just found the greatest treasure and rose to his feet, giving it to his daughter for her to hold. The two continued walking and both entered his red e-tron car, and Primrose couldn't help but grin at DUM-E, ready to get fixed, and attached to the car.

_It was a cocoon. And now, I'm a changed man. You can take away my house, all my tricks, and toys. One thing you can't take away_

_I am Iron Man._

* * *

_**January 6th, 2013** _

Primrose walked inside the room where JARVIS said her dad was with Dr. Banner, she didn't know what they were up to but after video chatting with Harley and play online games with him, she'd grew a little bored after he had to go and do his homework. She walked inside quietly, not wanting to disturb them, but she wasn't expecting to see Dr. Banner snoring while sitting on the couch while her dad lied on the opposite one, talking to himself without realizing that his friend was asleep.

As quiet as she could, she tip-toed near them with a mischevious smile on her face. It was good that her dad had his eyes closed, she was able to hide behind the couch where he was laying on.

"I mean, this is what gets people sick, you know. Wow, I had no idea you were such a good listener. To be able to share all my intimate thoughts and my experiences with someone, it just cuts all the weight in half," Primrose frowned, was her dad seeking therapy from Dr. Banner? He wasn't even that type of doctor! "You know it's like a snake swallowing its own tail. Everything comes full circle. A-And the fact that–"

She heard Dr. Banner drop something, possibly his glasses since she noticed they were dangling over his hand while he used his arm to rest his head and sleep, and heard him return from his sleep with a confused noise.

"...you were able to help me process" drawling mid-sentence, her dad must've finally realized that he's been talking to himself all this time, "You're with me?" he asked.

"Sorry I was..." Dr. Banner's voice sounded lost and tired, Primrose had to hold in a snort at that, "Yeah! W-Where were we? We were at... uhm..." he was struggling to speak, that was adorable.

"Are you actively napping?"

Bruce didn't mean to. He was genuinely concerned about what happened last month, especially when he heard that Primrose had been given too many doses of this Extremis virus. Bruce put himself in her shoes, when his own father tested on him as a baby and that now he had something inside of him that he could almost not control. But he was also tired, and he was a psychologist or a psychiatrist. He thought that Primrose's mother was one, why didn't Tony go to her?

"I was I-I drifted," Bruce admitted, resting his back on the couch and giving Tony a guilty expression.

"Where did I lose you?" her dad asked curtly.

"Elevator in Switzerland..." the doctor replied, feeling terrible.

"So you heard none of it," Tony concluded with an annoyed expression.

"I'm sorry. I'm not that kind of doctor. I'm not a therapist, it's not my training," he explained.

"So?"

"I don't have..."

"What? The time?" Tony pressed.

Bruce cringed, "...Temperament."

"You know what? Now that I think about it Oh! God! My original wound. Ninety-eighty-four, all right?" her dad suddenly continued, and Primrose could sense Bruce's discomfort from where she was hiding.

"Yes..."

"I'm fourteen-years-old, I still have a nanny. That was weird."

Just as Bruce gives up and lets his head fall down, Primrose can no longer contain her giggling. Her dad immediately ceased to speak and rose his body up to peek at her from the top of the couch.

"Hey! Young lady! This is a private session!" he yelled, both embarrassed and annoyed.

Bruce chuckled, "Hi Prim!" he greeted her happily.

"Get out of here! Go do your homework! You're grounded! I'm selling all of your toys!" Tony continued barking as Primrose's giggling became full on laughing as she ran away.

"Bye Dr. Banner! Good luck!" she quickly grinned and waved at the doctor before passing through the doors.

"Dammit, how much did you think she heard?" Tony asked his science bro.

Bruce shrugged, not exactly caring, "Maybe more than I did..." and then, just to pull Tony's leg, he rested his head again and closed his eyes, emitting a fake and loud snore.

Tony glared at him, sometimes he wished he could ground adult friends as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me @ the end of writing this chapter with y'all in the background:


	33. A Long Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy almost a year of Primrose's recovery of her traumatizing experience!
> 
> I'm in a rush and I barely had the time to proofread everything since I'm using my cousin's laptop! I love you guys and thanks for the support! 
> 
> (I will edit this more when I get home)

**_Location: Wholeview Wellness Clinic, Midtown East, New York_ **

_**January 8th, 2013** _

It's been roughly two weeks since Aldrich Killian's death.

Her dad and Pepper moved to the tower, which was good because now her dad was closer than ever. It was sad that Primrose lost her home in Malibu, she enjoyed the sunny weather and the city a lot, but now she had no motives to go there since her dad sold the acre where their house used to be.

Pepper had fully recovered and her Extremis was now dormant. But Primrose's body kept regenerating more of the virus even when her dad continued extracting it.

The things that have changed was that Primrose's asthma was gone and that she now preferred cold water when she showered or bathed. It seemed to really soothe her insides. But the thing that changed for the worst was the constant nightmares Primrose was having.

Emma keenly noticed that her daughter was showing signs of PTSD. She would stay inside her bedroom all day, she'd be jumpy at the smallest things like Emma suddenly walking inside her bedroom without knocking, she would come inside Emma's room in the middle of the night, crying because she thought she saw Killian inside her closet.

It has been a very distressing two weeks for both parents, because when JARVIS informed Tony and Pepper that Primrose was sleepwalking around the tower at three in the morning they almost had a heart attack when they caught her right on the doorstep of their room, mumbling about being a murderer.

Tony had to swallow hard at the news that Primrose killed two people. While being a sobbing mess after finally confessing, his daughter told him that the first time was accidental, she didn't mean to use the Extremis to kill that man. Primrose had the hardest time telling him about the second woman the Extremis soldier that she had to, unfortunately, kill in order to save Natasha's life.

Naturally, Tony was shocked. And so was Emma. Their sweet daughter just admitted to killing two people, and although they quickly didn't blame her about the first kill, because Primrose was already suffering enough and it wasn't her fault that she had been forcefully injected with a virus that she could not control, they decided to only talk about the woman. The three sat down and talked until they were sure that Primrose understood that they were not angry at her – that they knew she didn't have a choice and Tony even praised her on protecting Natasha. Something that the spy had done at the oil rig.

It was now clear that Primrose needed professional help because even though she was comforted by her parents the nightmares and sleepwalking didn't stop. Sometimes she would be fine, Primrose would be seen smiling and humming to music while drawing and even cracking jokes – but her mood could drastically change and make her quiet, sad (Emma's heart dropped when she caught her daughter crying inside the bathroom, hiding), and even short-tempered when she suddenly shouted at her Japanese tutor for speaking too fast.

Primrose was polite to adults, that was a clear red flag for Tony and Emma.

So they searched for a child therapist for Primrose, and Tony used all the means necessary to find the best in New York one that knew how to keep their mouth shut about being the therapist for Tony Stark's daughter. Emma advised for him to get one as well but Tony had insisted he was fine – his daughter came first.

So now the two were sitting in the waiting room as they waited to Primrose's first session to be over. The eleven-year-old had been anxious about seeing a psychologist. She asked her mom why couldn't she be her therapist and Emma explained to her the ethics of psychology so her daughter could understand why. They were both silent, lost in their own thoughts about their endless concern over Primrose and curious about how the session was going. Emma felt a little weird to be in another clinic that she didn't work on, she had to admit that this one seemed to only serve people doing really well in life – not that she was judging – but as always, Emma was glad that Tony's wealth was helping their daughter.

Inside the office, Primrose stared nervously at her own lap, forgetting how many minutes it has been since she entered the room and greeted Dr. Holland. She seemed nice. Dr. Marie Holland was a forty-one-year-old African-American child psychologist that was going to see Primrose once a week from now on. Or at least until Primrose was healed.

The office was large, in one of the corners there was a space with a shelf full of children's book, a small canvas, two boxes full of toys and what Primrose enjoyed most was the drawings that children obviously younger than she did for Dr. Holland, it was clear they liked her since the paintings and drawings were all with her holdings hands with the respective child.

The walls were pale blue, and the furniture was white. The sofa where she was sitting on had matching pillows to the walls and Primrose could see her diplomas on the wall right behind where Dr. Holland was sitting, with a notebook on her hand and a pen ready to write on it as she smiled friendly at her.

"So, Primrose," Dr. Holland began, her tone was gentle and Primrose could tell from it that she was a patient woman, "May I ask you a couple of questions?"

Primrose tentatively nodded, "Yes and, uhm, you can call me Prim if you want to"

Dr. Holland smiled and wrote down something, making Primrose wary.

"Okay Prim, so these questions are totally up to you to answer. If some of them make you uncomfortable then it's okay if you don't want to answer them, okay?" Dr. Holland told her calmly.

"Okay," she nodded.

"All right. So can you tell me what brings you here?"

Primrose looked at her with a confused expression, "Didn't my parents told you what happened to me?"

Dr. Holland smiled, nodding, "Yes, I know that you were kidnapped by Aldrich Killian. It was on the news, but I want to know why do you think you're here."

That caught Primrose by surprise, "Well u-uh I'm here because my parents are worried about me. They told me that this would help my nightmares go away and that it would make me better."

"I see," the doctor wrote something down, "And you think they are right?"

Primrose nodded, albeit thoughtful, "I-I think I'm not okay. They told me I sleepwalk, I don't remember doing it."

"People who suffer from sleepwalking remember little or nothing at all. Do you have any nightmares?"

"I do. Mostly about fire though," it was shocking to her how easily that came out. She hasn't even told that to her parents.

Writing down again, the doctor continued, "Fire? Does something happens with the fire?"

Primrose began feeling a little bit uncomfortable, she began shaking her right leg Dr. Holland took notice of that, she wrote down and spoke at the same time, "Remember when I told you that you're not forced to answer a question?"

Nodding, she looked at the carpet on the floor, "C-Can you ask me another question?" She really didn't want to tell her about her nightmares, especially to a stranger.

"Very well, have you ever seen a counselor before?"

Oh, that was easy to answer, "No but my mommy is one!" Primrose stopped shaking her head, her anxiousness gone as she smiled brightly from speaking about her mother.

Dr. Holland smiled, but she also wrote down the sudden change of mood that Primrose gave as soon as she focused the conversation on her mom, "I know. She's a very nice woman. Do you like her job?"

"Yeah! She helps people, like you. And I wanna be like her when I grow up."

"You want to be a therapist?" Dr. Holland asked, showing a curious smile.

Primrose shook her head, "No. I want to be the type of woman she is when I grow up."

"Oh, so you're very proud of your mom?"

"Very!"

"What about your dad? Do you like his job?" Dr. Holland asked, as usual, writing down on her notebook.

At first, Primrose wanted to say yes right away. But suddenly memories of Obadiah Stane, Ivan Vanko, the Expo explosions, the Chitauri attack on New York and Aldrich Killian advancing towards her dad through the fire made her choke and drop her smile – she grabbed hold of her temples as a sudden headache painfully reminded her of those events.

"Are you all right?!" Dr. Holland exclaimed, leaning in closer with a concerned look.

"Y-Yes my head suddenly hurt, sorry," Primrose told her as the headache slowly vanished, like she just had a brain freeze.

"It's okay honey if you don't want to respond to my question–"

"No, let me," Primrose interrupted, "I like my dad's job. He has been given a huge responsibility at a very young age and he did fine. I know my dad, I know his life before me was full of parties but everyone seems to forget how much he's changed. My dad is Iron Man, Dr. Holland, he saves people and he saved the world from an alien attack – he almost sacrificed himself doing it as well," she didn't want to cry in front of her, but the more she continued speaking emotionally about her dad, the hardest it was getting to hold her tears back, "We both couldn't sleep. We both suffered, but he the most. Because of his job as Iron Man, he became paranoid about what is going to come next, and how much he could be prepared for it."

Dr. Holland listened attentively to the child's words, nodding along.

"But I love Iron Man. And Iron Man is my dad. So yes, I like my dad's job. But I wished his job was less dangerous. I'm proud of my dad, but I don't want to lose him" Primrose said with a sad tone, sighing and leaning back on the sofa, "Why couldn't he be a dentist?"

At that, Dr. Holland chuckled as she immediate wrote down something, "Do you usually use comedy as a gateway?"

Primrose shrugged, "I don't know."

"Okay. You told me your dad's job is dangerous and you wished it wasn't. If there was a way for your father to retire forever as Iron man, would you support it?" Dr. Holland inquired.

The brunette bit her lower lip, "Only if my dad wanted it as well," she responded.

"Very well, ready for the next question?"

Primrose nodded.

"What is the problem from your viewpoint?"

"My viewpoint?"

"Yes, what do you truly believe is the problem?"

Primrose straightened her back, "Bad people."

"Bad people?" Dr. Holland repeated, writing as she asked, "Can you be more specific?"

She shrugged, "No. Bad people go after my dad and then this one came after me to get to him," she stated with a matter-of-factly tone.

"How does this problem typically make you feel?" the doctor asked.

"Horrible, of course. I hate seeing my dad suffer, and my mom too"

"I see What makes the problem better for you?"

The question made Primrose smile a little again, "Being around my family and my friend Hanae."

Dr. Holland smiled as well, "Being around people makes you feel at ease?"

Primrose nodded.

"So being lonely is when it gets rough, isn't?"

"If I'm alone, I start thinking about it again. I don't like it" Swinging her legs again, the brunette avoided the doctor's eyes as she spoke, "Sometimes I can't sleep, so I draw. Once I drew so much and then I noticed that the sun was coming up."

"I see, do you know what sleep deprivation is?" Dr. Holland asked as she wrote down.

"I do, my dad had it. He's doing better now though," Primrose replied with an easy smile. Her dad has been sleeping better and Pepper is the proof of it. Their relationship has improved a lot.

"That's great!" Dr. Holland smiled widely, "Now I'm going to ask you a fun question, ready?"

"Okay!"

"If you could wave a magic wand, what positive changes would you make happen in your life?"

Primrose giggled, "Oh uh," she looked up, thinking about it, "I would make everyone that wants to hurt my family and friends disappear."

"That's very nice of you Prim, but you wouldn't wish anything for you?"

The eleven-year-old smiled, "I already have everything I want. I don't need anything else!" she told the therapist with a grin.

"Are you sure?"

Primrose stared at her, "Uh yeah I mean, I have something inside of me that I wished it was gone."

"Yes, your father informed me about the Extremis virus Killian injected in you, that must've been scary."

Surprised, the little girl gasped, "You know about the Extremis?"

Dr. Holland nodded, "It's part of your trauma, don't worry your secret is safe with me," she smiled at her, "You can trust me. Everything that you tell me, it's only between us. No one will know, not even your parents."

"Oh, really? Okay" she was hesitant, but continued, "My dad worries about it, and I do too. We don't know how to fix it, yet."

"I'm sure everything will be fine."

"You do?"

"Yes, in my opinion, everything that has begun will have an end. No matter how long it takes," Dr. Holland stated confidently.

Primrose looked at her, awed, "That kinda makes sense!" the new realization made her feel more positive about the future, "So one day my daddy will be able to help me?"

"Maybe. But I don't know, the future is also uncertain."

Primrose nodded, "I know this quote, 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.'."

"That is beautiful, where is it from?"

"Kung Fu Panda."

Dr. Holland chuckled, amused, "You seem more relaxed. Overall, how would you describe your mood?"

"I feel positive about the future. Just a little bit, because of what you said."

"I'm glad honey, but you can't heal yourself with only one session," Dr. Holland looked at her watch and sighed, "Our time ends in five minutes."

"It's been forty minutes already?" Primrose asked, a little disappointed. She was starting to enjoy speaking with Dr. Holland, she listened to her carefully and after the first ten minutes, Primrose actually started feeling comfortable in here.

"Unfortunately. Before we finish, what do you expect from the counseling process?" she asked the brunette.

"I expect to be okay. And for the nightmares to go away, I just want for everyone to stop being worried over me."

"Why is that? Your parents will always worry."

"I don't want to be a burden," Primrose admitted while mumbling.

When Dr. Holland was about to speak, the wristwatch that she was using began beeping, signalizing that the session was over. She sighed, "Okay, Prim, we made a lot of progress for a first session. I'm very pleased, but I won't forget what you just told me. We'll talk about it next week, okay?"

"Okay, Dr. Holland."

Tony and Emma both rose to their feet when Primrose showed up on the waiting room with Dr. Holland right behind her, Emma quickly asked if it went well and for a minute Primrose was scared Dr. Holland had lied and was about to tell them everything, and sensing her distress, the doctor quickly assured Primrose that she wasn't going to tell them anything, but still needed to have a quick chat with her parents before they could leave.

Waiting for her parents in the waiting room while the woman at the front office watched over her made Primrose a little anxious.

But when they got out of there and she said goodbye to Dr. Holland, Primrose realized that she could trust her because her parents didn't seem to show that they knew what they talked about during the session. Either way, Primrose actually wanted to go back, but at the same time, she was scared of facing what she just confessed to Dr. Holland.

* * *

**_February, 2013_ **

The therapy sessions have been going on for five weeks now.

And Primrose was actually starting to feel better. Her sleepwalking had ceased, but she would still have the same nightmares sometimes. Whenever that happened, and no matter where she was currently staying at, she would strangely find comfort in staring at the starry sky. If she was at her mom's, Primrose could pull a chair by the window and stare at the city as long as her tired eyes could, the object of her affection was mostly her dad's tower – which was under construction and announced to be re-named as the Avengers Tower.

It was really comforting to know her dad was minutes away from her, instead of hours.

Rhodey and Emma celebrated dating for seven months, it was supposed to be their sixth month anniversary but with what happened two months ago, their focus was only on Primrose and they kind of forgot. It was only when Primrose asked how long her mom has been dating him when Emma remembered and so the two decided to celebrate because better now than later.

They might only be in a relationship for seven months, but as her dad said, something sparked between them four years ago. Either way, Primrose was happy for them and her mom seemed truly happy.

Emma finally introduced Rhodey to Joan and Jack, the four went on a double date while Primrose and Mabel stayed with Tony at the tower. That evening, Joan and Jack happily announced that their adoption had gone through and in three months they were going to welcome a two-year-old boy from South Korea named Min-Jun into their home. Rhodey was happy for them, the awkwardness of meeting new people soon disappeared when they began celebrating both anniversary and adoption.

It was nice for Tony to finally meet Emma's goddaughter, she was a nice kid and it was obvious that she was an important person in Primrose's life – even when his daughter didn't mention her much. Mabel Danner was now seven years old, Tony thought that she was a sweet kid, but a little shy. Primrose certainly brought the playful side of the girl, and seeing his daughter play with a girl close to her age made Tony think about what if Primrose had a sister.

He quickly shut down that idea though, it was too soon to think about that with Pepper. But still, it was nice seeing his daughter be the mature one when she told Mabel it was time to brush their teeth before going to sleep.

Tony was also happy for Rhodey and Emma, the two might be far apart with age but that didn't stop them from forming a relationship, in the end, everyone was just relieved that Primrose was fine with it. But of course Tony had to give a quip about Rhodey having his sloppy seconds, which resulted in Emma pinching his cheek and Pepper pulling his ear – Rhodey enjoyed it.

Dr. Holland had been a good choice from Primrose, the little girl was actually starting to act like her true self again but even though everything was going well, it didn't mean she was truly healed.

For example, her Extremis virus was still in her system, and that was driving Tony insane. Even with Bruce's help, the two geniuses attempt to extract or to completely vanquish the virus from her body were all a failure.

So Bruce came up with a temporary solution. He created a vaccine that would keep it under control – as in, if Primrose became too nervous or angry, she would be safe and show no symptoms, like glowing red eyes. Bruce couldn't help but to sadly compare her situation with his, although he was much more dramatic he really pitied Primrose and promised Tony that he would not give up on helping his friend with fixing her.

Their friendship solidified, and Bruce Banner became an Uncle to Primrose.

* * *

**_March, 2013_ **

The therapy sessions have been going on for ten weeks now.

Primrose was definitely better now. She promised everyone that her nightmares rarely showed up and that she was actually starting to move on from everything that happened last year.

The vaccine that Bruce invented had proven to be a success. And everyone started to notice something about her. For example, Tony was hanging out with her, the two aimlessly talking, while she drew him and somehow she got a paper cut. The cut was long on her finger, two things happened at once: once the blood drop fell on the paper, it started burning through it. And when Tony went to get bandaids, the cut on her finger had completely healed in a matter of the time he took to go get them.

It was safe to say that both freaked out.

Bruce quickly, and with her consent, took a blood sample from Primrose and both geniuses saw that the Extremis virus was overtaking her blood cells at an alarming pace – but Primrose told them she felt fine, she felt normal. Then the syringe's tube shattered, because looking back at the recordings of the security camera that JARVIS has, the blood sample inside the tube had started to boil on its own until it imploded from lack of oxygen.

Tony almost had a panic attack, but Primrose insisted she felt fine even though her blood was now almost the same temperature as raw lava.

Bruce, albeit concerned, was fascinated and request consent to take a few more blood samples from Primrose to test it and seek answers to why her blood was so compatible with the Extremis. He shouldn't have said that Killian was right about something, because that triggered both Starks and he almost let the Hulk out when they both yelled at him.

Luckily, nothing happened once they all had ice cream and the gamma filled doctor apologized properly.

Rhodey moved to Manhattan. He got himself a nice apartment with two bedrooms and an extra one for his own personal office. When Tony, Pepper, Bruce, Emma, and Primrose visited for the first time to check out the place over dinner they were all impressed – but Tony, of course, had to give his own opinion just to tease his best friend.

Bruce was getting more comfortable with walking around the streets again. He once left the tower to go for a walk but came back twenty minutes later, breathing heavily and telling Tony that a dog chased him over a hot dog. Tony laughed but Bruce reprehended him and explained that it could've been dangerous! Still, even after the dog incident, Bruce ventured out more and Tony sometimes would go with him, the billionaire would buy his friend proper clothes that he probably was never going to wear and he almost got away with buying Bruce Gucci glasses, but the scientist promptly refused.

When Primrose was with them, Bruce enjoyed spending time with her at a local kid's park. He would even volunteer to babysit her if it was date night for Tony and Pepper. Bruce loved children, they were so lively and honest. Well, with the exception of that Indian girl that led him into a trap created by Natasha – but Bruce understood, it was tough in the small village where he used to perform his healing abilities so he didn't blame the little girl for taking money to lure him there.

Besides, he would have never met Tony and the other guys. Or Prim, a girl so bright and brave – he enjoyed her trying to play with the other children, she wasn't around kids her age and he could relate to that. During his childhood, his father kept him mostly at home and didn't let him leave. Then when everything went downhill and his father killed his mother, he met other children at the orphanage he was put on. And before getting adopted by Linda Krenzler, a recently widowed woman that cared for him and loved him as a real mother would he was throughout bullied and cast aside because of his intelligence and social anxiety.

When she died as well, Bruce thought he could never fit in anywhere else, not even when he made friends at his workplace and fell in love with Betty Ross.

But that was all in the past, and he was starting to realize that perhaps this is where he belonged. With these people. They didn't fear him, they weren't scared to poke fun at him in the right way and the Other Guy has certainly grown a soft spot for Primrose, Bruce could feel it because he also had it.

* * *

**_April, 2013_ **

The therapy sessions have been going on for fourteen weeks now.

After their Karate lesson, Hanae went to Primrose's home in Queens for a sleepover that the two planned to have for the weekend. When the two girls saw each other again after Primrose's kidnapping months ago, the Japanese girl that was usually stoic hugged the brunette tightly, surprising her. Afterward, Hanae struck her in the head with her fist and scolded Primrose to never scare her like that again. While rubbing on her head, Primrose apologized profoundly and explained that she acted without thinking because she had been worried over her dad on that day.

Hanae forgave her, but not before Primrose got kicked in the knee by her.

During the sleepover, Primrose noticed that her friend seemed quieter than often, she still managed to be polite towards Emma but instead of talking she would nod and keep her expression always serious and thoughtful.

When they were both lying in Primrose's bed, with the lights off, Hanae finally talked with her about what was making her sulk, she was going to study a full semester in Japan and she was only returning next year. Her classes began in a week and before Primrose would ask, Hanae explained that school in Japan began in Spring and not in the Fall.

Seeing Primrose about to cry, Hanae promised she'd return for the summer vacation in July, and that the two could hang out then. That is why Hanae had suggested a sleepover – because she was leaving in three days.

When that day came, Primrose was at the airport with Emma, saying farewell to her only friend and wishing her good luck with her studies. It was an emotional goodbye, and even Hanae shed a small tear, but Primrose was happy for her because Hanae missed her hometown and she was going to see her older brother and family again.

When she was gone, Mrs. Sato thanked Primrose for being her daughter's friend, and that if she ever needed something she could tell her.

It was sad to see Hanae go, but the two kept contact through Skype and not even the eight-hour timezone difference between the two countries would stop the two girls and their two-year-old friendship from breaking apart.

Part of Primrose wanted to tell Hanae the truth. The only information she had was that Primrose was kidnapped by Killian and held captive until her dad saved her life. The world didn't know about the Extremis about the two people she killed. What would Hanae think about her? Would she be scared? Disgusted? Either way, Primrose didn't like thinking about it, but she did confide in Dr. Holland and the therapist advised her that each person's had its own reaction to things – they can be either positive, neutral or negative. But if Primrose wasn't ready to tell Hanae the truth then she shouldn't, and not surprisingly, the brunette agreed.

* * *

**_May, 2013_ **

The therapy sessions have been going on for nineteen weeks now.

Emma and Primrose went to the Danner residence in Brooklyn Heights to meet the new member of their family, Min-Jun Danner. Primrose, who loved babies, instantly got attached to him and sparked some jealousy from Mabel. But Primrose was able to quickly control it by stating that Mabel was still her favorite cousin for now.

Emma was actually proud of Joan for going through with her word and adopting a baby. Min-Jun had unfortunately been abandoned by a teen mother who was too scared to tell her parents and boyfriend about the pregnancy. She at least had the decency of dropping him outside the hospital doors before disappearing but still, Emma pitied the young girl.

The best feature about Min-Jun was his unruly, black hair. He certainly was a hairy baby and Primrose loved it. The boy also quickly enjoyed all the attention, oblivious to the fact that he just became an American citizen and that he was meeting the people that he will call family. When Emma asked Joan and Jack why they didn't change his name into an American one, just out of curiosity, Joan responded by the two by saying that they didn't want to erase part of his legacy and that even though they are going to teach him English, they wanted him to still know how to speak Korean.

Emma quickly gave them advice on the company that they hired the language teachers for Primrose. She was basically fluent in French, Portuguese and was still working on her Japanese but making progress. The Danners thanked her for that and promised to check out their website, they had to begin early because Asian languages were harder to learn and even though Min-Jun knew a few words from living in South Korea until now, he could easily forget them as he grows older.

Emma respected that but also warned about not tiring the boy. He was only two years old, after all. Both parents quickly assured her that they would not exhaust him.

When she passed her jealousy, Mabel gloated about her new little brother and couldn't wait to tell everyone at school. It was Primrose's turn to become jealous, she's been wanting a little brother or sister ever since she met Mabel but both her parents always change the subject or avoid it when she brings it up. In the end, and feeling bad for her, Mabel told her they could co-sister Min-Jun and everyone was happy at the end of the day.

Primrose told Dr. Holland about her week and how cute Min-Jun was, they talked about loneliness and family that session. And Dr. Holland told Primrose to draw how she saw herself. She had asked her to do this on her second session, and the first draft Primrose had drawn herself looking like a fire demon with a frowny expression. But this time when Primrose thought about everything that happened since January, she drew herself smiling and included everyone that was dear to her heart as well because they were the reason why she had a smile on her face.

* * *

**_June, 2013_ **

The therapy sessions have been going on for twenty-four weeks now.

Dr. Holland told Tony and Emma that Primrose had greatly improved throughout their sessions, but she also advised for their daughter to keep returning since she has a feeling that being kidnapped isn't the only issue the little girl has. Dr. Holland knows that Primrose is homeschooled, and she suggested that maybe Primrose should start spending some time with children her age. The eleven-year-old was about to begin a part of her life where her body would start to change and have new transformations happening to it.

Primrose needed friends so she can learn how to socialize with her generation and have a sense of belonging, a feeling of being valued and help with developing confidence, the sense of security and comfort that comes from being with others going through similar experiences, a social group to do new things with, especially things that are different from what families do. Primrose needed the information about the changes that puberty brings, and what's going on physically and emotionally – Dr. Holland quickly pointed out to Tony and Emma that she knows they would be there for their daughter as well, but Primrose still needed a way to experiment with different values, roles, identities and ideas, experience in getting along with people of the opposite sex.

Tony frowned at that. It was too soon to even think about his little girl "experiencing" and "getting along with people of the opposite sex". He didn't want to be over-protective when it came to boys and his daughter – he knows she's too young to even know what romantic love his but he knew she was cute, and that as soon she hit puberty she would blossom into a beautiful lady. But still, he'll be damned if he won't complain about it. He'd do the same if he had a son instead of a daughter. His son would not be allowed to do the same mistakes he did as a kid.

Then, he remembered Harley Keener.

The first boy Primrose's age that she talked with. Well, besides that kid that saved her in Stark Expo, and although Tony had been disappointed for not being able to properly thank him for helping his daughter, the kid's identity was lost and even Emma was sad about it since she got along with his Aunt and Uncle.

Harley though, Tony knew where he was. And he decided to follow Dr. Hollands advice. So he talked with Emma, then Pepper and after an okay from them, he called Mrs. Keener and had a long conversation with her about what happened last December and how great her son was – and then he asked if he could invite Harley to spend a few weeks with them because Primrose missed him. So what if Tony told a white lie, in the end, he just wanted to go through Dr. Holland's advice and get this over with.

But Tony would be damned if he wouldn't keep an eye on them all the time, even though they were too young, puppy love comes in all shapes and ages.

The night before he was going to pick up Harley from Rose Hill, Tony had a dream that he could consider a nightmare – it was him walking down the aisle with an adult Primrose dressed as a bride, her face covered with a white veil so he couldn't see her face, but what really troubled him was seeing the groom at the end of the aisle, looking all smug and smirking his way. Then, reluctantly, after giving his daughter away to him, the groom whispered in his ear 'don't worry, I'll take care of her'.

Tony woke up with cold sweat sliding down his temples.

When Harley finally arrived, the kid was more excited about checking out the workshops and labs around the tower and Primrose was happy to show him around. She didn't know why her dad invited Harley to stay for a few weeks but she was glad he did, she really missed Hanae and she's been feeling lonely. Harley was cool, he told her about how E.J (his ex-bully) had become his closest friend and that he protected him in school from other bullies. Primrose was happy for Harley, she didn't know what it was like from suffering bullying but when Harley told her about what E.J had done to him before his redemption Primrose was glad she didn't.

Primrose introduced Jimbo to Harley, and the boy was quickly fascinated by the leopard gecko. It was nice having a friend over other than Hanae.

The next day, Emma came to visit during her lunch hour and met Harley as well, she thought that he was a really nice boy with a good sense of humor. He was also quick to point out that Primrose had her mom's eyes, which the girl agreed. Emma was glad Primrose was making even more friends, even when they were only two. Emma had many friends in high school but they all drifted apart even after claiming that they'd be together forever. The only real friend she forged was in college when she met Joan. Of course that Emma sometimes missed her high school friends, but if it wasn't meant to be, then she wasn't going to force them to contact her again, her life was in New York now and they were in San Francisco.

When she left to go get back to work, Primrose invited Harley to play scary games on her computer, and he quickly said yes.

Luckily Tony had a feeling that something was wrong and when he checked on the kids, at the same time he entered Primrose's playroom, they both screamed when they got jumpscared by the monster and he also screamed because they did. In the end, the children laughed and Tony annoyed, but embarrassed, told them to not play those type of games and watch cartoons instead.

Tony decided to follow up with Harley's suggestion back when they met in the shed and both had worked on the retro-reflective panels. Harley was so excited that he let the kid into his workshop and help as well. Tony swore the kid was shaking so much from awe and exhilaration that one would think Harley drink an energy drink mixed with coffee. Nevertheless, it was nice to have a partner besides Bruce, helping him around. Primrose didn't mind watching them work together, it was actually kind of amusing when they started throwing quips at each other and she would always bet on Harley to win, breaking her dad's heart in the process.

The next week, Tony surprised the two kids by taking them to Disneyland in California. Primrose was glad to be back to the state where she was born and she had a great time with Harley and Tony even offered to pay everything that the kid wanted, Harley was so happy and he chose to get a Minnie Mouse ears headband for his sister, plus a Pluto plushie as well and a snow globe of Cinderella's castle for his mom. For himself, he got a Space Mountain t-shirt and a monorail playset. Harley was a little nervous about Tony buying him all of those things but the genius didn't even blink when he paid for everything – the sandy-haired boy saw the man with new eyes that day.

Primrose wanted to get a silhouette and since Tony knew Harley wanted one as well he let the two make it, Harley thanked Tony again and promised to hang his on the cool new workshop Tony had built for him. The billionaire was good at hiding it but he actually felt his heart warm a little at how earnest Harley sounded, the kid had a good heart and knew how to be thankful.

Before leaving the theme park, Primrose wanted to keep this memory forever so she asked her dad for them to take a photo on the Partners statue, the iconic statue with Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, with Cinderella's castle behind them as the background. He asked a stranger if she could take the photo and she kindly did it and when they were done, the stranger asked Tony if he could autograph her book and he gladly wrote his name on the page next to Peter Pan's – which amused him.

On the journey back to New York, both kids slept through the whole flight. Tony felt proud of himself for able to handle two kids at the same time, it helped that they were both well-behaved even though Harley could be over-enthusiastic sometimes.

As the days passed and the two enjoyed the beginning of their summer vacation together as much as they could, Primrose was sad when it was finally the time for Harley to go back home. The two had friends six months ago but their friendship evolved after actually spending time together face-to-face, it was much different than Skyping or playing video games online. It had been nice and Tony made a promise that if Harley wanted, he could come to visit them every summer or whenever he wanted.

Not only he was a good friend of his daughter, but as much as Tony didn't want to admit it, he had grown fond of the kid and liked having him around when he was at his workshop, giving opinions and helping him around with upgrading his Iron Man suit. Tony was going to miss that. But he never told that to anyone, so when Harley and Primrose hugged as a goodbye and promised to stay in touch, Tony took him back to Rose Hill.

In Tennessee, before Harley could get inside the car that Tony hired to drive him back safely, Tony had awkwardly patted his head, and then his shoulder, and then bid his a goodbye and told him to eat his vegetables.

Harley had laughed and thanked him for everything, telling him this has been the best summer he had since his father left. And that really tugged a few heartstrings from Tony. Then quickly, Harley hugged him and ran inside the car before Tony could react, and the last thing he heard the kid say from the car's window was 'I told you we were connected' before the car drove away.

Tony had to smile after recovering from the sudden hug, the kid was smart – he really liked him.

* * *

**_July, 2013_ **

The therapy sessions have been going on for twenty-nine weeks now.

Dr. Holland was now sure that Primrose's trauma no longer affected the little girl's life on a great scale. It was still there, but Primrose had now become capable of keeping it away from her mind and thoughts and just focus on the positive things happening to her. Dr. Holland saw the change happening right before her hands, the difference of Primrose that she met on their first session to the Primrose of their latest was immense, the eleven-year-old was such much more relaxed, comfortable and didn't hesitate anymore when talking during therapy. Dr. Holland was proud, and after their session, she told Tony and Emma that maybe soon Primrose would not need therapy anymore.

Saying that both concerned parents were relieved and happy was putting it mildly.

She was indeed changed, for the better. Gone was the sleepwalking, the nightmares (except that one where Thor stole her Pop-tarts, she was still confused about that one), the insomnias and the sudden mood changes. The only issue she had going on in her life was the Extremis virus running inside her veins – but to even that she was indifferent too.

Primrose believed that if the virus inside her body were to kill her, it should've happened already. It's been half a year ever since and even when she didn't admit it to anyone, she has never felt better. She once sneaked inside one of the gyms that the tower had was tested a theory. Primrose remembers Killian being able to lift heavy objects with only one arm back at the oil rig, and she also recalls Pepper's battle against both the Iron Suit that was accidentally trying to kill her and Killian – she had been a badass, and also able to do things that no human body can do.

So after sneaking inside the gym, Primrose tried lifting a fifty pound weight – and she was startled because she thought it wasn't going to move so when she pulled it up she heaved it with a lot of strength and the thing ended up being tossed towards the ceiling and make a hole on it before falling down, and almost hitting her as well. Scared and confused, she ran away before anyone could see it.

JARVIS however, had shown the footage to her dad. And then he showed it to Bruce.

Needless to say, a new uneasiness was born.

So now, Primrose had enhanced strength, or maybe she had it all this time but never had the chance to show it. Primrose apologized as she cried on her dad's chest about the gym's ceiling, and Tony simply told her that he didn't care about the ceiling – that they had to focus on her new ability now. This was making him beyond anxious, if someone knew about Primrose they would easily try to weaponize her like Aldrich Killian wanted to, and he'd be damned to hell if he let anyone do that to his daughter.

Bruce also realized that his vaccine was becoming weaker and that only meant that the Extremis inside Primrose was evolving – fighting against it and becoming stronger. The only relief that the two could have was that Primrose seemed unaffected by it, she would tell them every day that she felt fine, good even. But they were still on high alert as if she could explode any moment.

On the fourth of July, Steve was surprised when he received a letter from Primrose. Tony had helped her figure out how to send it and he was very touched by the 'happy birthday' postcard and even enjoyed the small joke because it said 'Happy 95th Birthday, Old Man!' on the cover. Inside the card, Primrose wrote:

_'Hey Mr. Rogers, Captain America sir, I hope you have a good birthday and that you enjoy being old but looking young at the same time. Here's a dollar, don't spend it all on candy! -Prim :)'_

He had to smile at the dollar bill before he pocketed it, he noticed that was something else was inside the envelope where the postcard came from, he grabbed the folded paper and stared surprisedly at the drawing of himself, holding his shield up in the air and hitting a monster (probably a Chitauri) in the face with it – and in the background, was the drawing of a girl that resembled Primrose, cheering him on with a smile on her face.

Steve was genuinely considering this to be the best birthday gift he ever had after of course, Bucky's drawing book gift that he got for him on his eighteenth birthday. Thinking about his best friend made Steve suddenly feel sad, this was his first birthday without Bucky ruffling his hair.

He shook the feeling away quickly and closed his mailbox to return to his apartment with Primrose's gifts in hand. He was going to put the postcard somewhere safe and her drawing well he had to use those ladybug fridge magnets that Natasha got them for something, didn't he?

* * *

**_August, 2013_ **

The therapy sessions have been going on for thirty-three weeks now.

Hanae returned back to Japan after staying in New York for her short summer vacation. Primrose had to give it to her, her friend was indeed strong-willed for being able to handle the Japanese school-system after being on the American one for so long.

The two enjoyed their time together, and Hanae commented that Primrose looked taller from last time they saw each other. Primrose told her that she had suffered a lot of pain from a sudden grown-spurt she had two weeks ago, but she was happy with the results because she liked feeling taller, but what was strange for her was the small pubic hairs growing on her armpits. She first noticed them when she was drying herself after showering. And when she asked her mom what they were Emma screamed joyfully, startling Primrose, and quickly apologized and explained that it meant she was growing up.

She was too young to shave them, and honestly Primrose didn't care about showing them. It was hot in August and she would wear tank-tops or sleeveless shirts if she wanted to.

Something she keenly noticed was that although her mom showed excitement, her dad was horrified at them when Primrose proudly showed it to him. He dramatically threw himself on a sofa and playfully cried with "anguish" at the thought of his baby girl growing up, to which Primrose rolled her eyes at.

On the second week of August, Primrose packed her bags because they were going on a family vacation in Paris. And by family, he meant, she, him, Pepper, her mom, Rhodey, and Happy. Bruce was invited but he told Tony he'd rather stay at the tower and try to understand what was happening with Primrose. She was sad that he wasn't coming since it was slowly becoming a tradition to travel in August each year but what she loved most was that this time everyone was coming along, so if Bruce had come as well it would've been perfect.

They arrived in Paris the next day. This was the first time Rhodey and Emma were traveling together as a couple, they have been dating officially for a year and one month, and their relationship was going strong, and so was her dad and Pepper's – or as Primrose liked to call them, Pepperony. It was a pun she came up with while eating a pepperoni pizza, and Tony chortled so loudly that Pepper had to hush him three times before giving in and laughing as well.

Truly, Paris was the city of love but Primrose could be seen pouting at the romance she was witnessing between the two couples – that's why she was glad Happy was there. The head of security and family friend and he went on their own adventure through the city and enjoyed their time together. Primrose was happy he had recovered well from the Chinese Theater explosion.

The romance didn't last much because this was a family vacation. The group visited Disneyland Paris and checked-in at the Disneyland Hotel. Tony and Pepper were sleeping at the Sleeping Beauty Suite, Emma and Rhodey were staying at the Cinderella Suite and Primrose and Happy were sharing a Superior Room but with two double beds instead of the King-sized beds that the other rooms had. In the end, Happy had to watch almost every Disney movie that the hotel had in order for Primrose to finally fall asleep.

Of course, everything was going too well.

Primrose had a fantastic week in Paris, she visited the Louvre and saw the iconic Mona Lisa painting, she went to the Eiffel Tower and got some photos of Paris at night and she even tried the best macarons and croissants in the city.

But on her last day there, something went wrong. She was about to finish her shower, but when she reached down to turn the water off, she broke the faucet and a jet of water came out from the broken pipe. She instantly screamed and got out of the tub, grabbing for her towel robe before anyone could run inside. Tony was there first and he was shocked to see the bathroom getting flooded with the water squirting everywhere, he told Primrose to quickly get out and she obeyed, scared at what she just did by simply trying to turn the water off.

And it wasn't only that. After the hotel staff helped by turning off the water from the room temporarily and calling in a plumber, Primrose felt more than guilty about the whole situation. She barely had twisted it.

Emma found her dressed, sitting in a chair on the balcony of the room, staring at her own hands with a confused expression. No one blamed Primrose, it had been accidental and they didn't want to stress her even more. Emma told her that everything was going to be okay, they were going to fix everything that that no one suspected it was her.

Tony paid for the damage and the hotel almost refused because the manager thought it had been the hotel's fault but in the end, Tony's charisma allowed to add the damage to the bill.

When they returned to New York, the group all held back from speaking about what happened and Primrose appreciated it. She really didn't want to talk about it, she hadn't been alarmed about the incident, Primrose already discovered that new feature about her body, she was addled while everyone worried.

The news got worse when they all arrived at the tower and JARVIS announced that Bruce wanted to see Tony in the lab that the billionaire assigned for him when he moved in the tower. Instead of just Tony, everyone went to see Bruce because they knew it was about Primrose – and even though her dad told her to go to her room she argued back, stating that she going because she deserved to know what was happening with her own body.

Tony, a genius, couldn't find a sensible way to find an excuse for that. So Primrose went with them.

Turns out, Bruce found out something eerie from Primrose's last blood sample. The Extremis virus was overcoming her own blood cells at a fast speed but it was now evolving and mutating itself even more. It was growing each day and Bruce feared that Primrose's blood system could be replaced with only the Extremis virus if this prolonged further. It was scary, and even when she wasn't feeling it, her body was being taken over by it.

Bruce took another blood sample, and horrifyingly enough, his theory was correct and the proof was that instead of the normal, red blood entering the tube, a gooey, reddish orange liquid came out instead.

They were all shocked, and Primrose didn't like the way they all looked at her it was like she was a monster. Feeling judged, she quickly ran away from the lab and ignore everyone's calls for her name. She ran to her bedroom and told JARVIS to please lock the door, she needed to be alone for at least an hour. And JARVIS obeyed because the A.I. had also its concerns over the little girl.

Emma tried her best for Primrose to open the door, but then she decided to give up and let her daughter get the space she needed to absorb all the situation.

Tony and Bruce now needed to work on a new formula, one more aggressive than Bruce's original one. While they planned, Rhodey comforted Emma the best he could and Happy was right there with them, agreeing with his friend. There was no way that two geniuses couldn't come up with a solution.

Primrose only stared at the city through her floor-to-ceiling windows, thinking about the future and wishing she could see herself in ten years to see if she was going to be okay.

* * *

**_September, 2013_ **

The therapy sessions have been going on for thirty-seven weeks now.

Primrose couldn't believe she was finally in middle school, starting fifth grade. This year wouldn't be the year of her actually going to a school, even though her dad promised that when the tower would be done she could, there was an obstacle in her way and the name of it was Extremis.

The aggressive vaccine to help keep the symptoms down was named Excalibur and after a few recalibrations and testings, before it even touched Primrose's skin, it was safe to say that it worked. But precautions were still given, and unfortunately, everyone would have to wait and see if Excalibur was enough to keep Primrose's strength normalized accordingly to her age.

Tony also feared about Primrose suffering from any side-effects, but the only thing that seemed to happen was a mild headache and urge to eat a cup of water filled with ice cubes. That was fine, as long as Primrose's Extremis was calm everything was going to be okay. Right?

* * *

**_October, 2013_ **

The therapy sessions have been going on for forty-two weeks now.

Dr. Holland had noticed that Primrose was keeping something from her, but she naturally didn't force the girl to talk about it has been her patient for nine months now, and after seeing each other for forty-five minutes one each week made Dr. Holland understand when Primrose wanted to truly talk about something that was bothering – this time, she didn't want to. They only talked about the usual, and Primrose was actually relieved Dr. Holland never pressured her to speak, everything would come out naturally and whenever she was ready to say it.

But the whole drama needed to be forgotten, at least for a day, a very special one.

Primrose turned twelve-year-old! And she wanted to have a small party at the tower, Tony of course, quickly assembled everything that she wanted, including three fountains of dark, milk and white chocolate with a table filled with many types of fruit to dip on them. Everyone special in her life was invited. Her parents, godparents, Happy, Joan, Mabel, Min-Jun, and even Harley was able to come, bringing Marian, his little sister that turned seven years old in June, along. Mabel and Marian got along right away, being the same age.

It was the first time that the adults watched Primrose have a birthday party so full of children – even Min-Jun, albeit being only two, joined in on the fun as his wobbly legs chased his sister and Marian around. Primrose and Harley enjoyed eating cake and watching movies while they chatted. She apologized for not sending him nothing on his birthday and he said it was fine because she didn't know, but now Primrose would remember March sixth very carefully. Even when he was nice to her, Harley teased Primrose for being seven months older than her, meaning that he was in charge – something that Primrose believed to be wrong, but it didn't stop him from blatantly teasing her until she used one of her karate moved to kick a pillow at his face – wowing him and making her dad cheer.

The birthday gifts were also special. Joan and Mabel gave her a photo album for her to put the photos she already had and to make more memories in the future. Rhodey gave her an Iron Patriot figurine that her dad kinda laughed at before she silenced him with a look, Happy gave her the entire collection of a book series called 'Percy Jackson & the Olympians', the box contained five books inside and Happy said that the girl at the store told him it was really popular with the kids – Primrose eyed the books hungrily, she loved adventure and fantasy books, she was a fan of 'Harry Potter' so she might like them. Pepper gave her a new game for her PS4 which she loved and Bruce (who anxiously waited for her reaction) gave her a Hufflepuff mug because he knew how much she liked 'Harry Potter', she thanked him with a hug and even though he was tense at first, he melted right into it and hugged her back.

Then finally, her parents. This year they decided to give her a very important gift from both of them: a Stark phone.

Now, it was a lot of responsibility for a child to have a cell phone but after Primrose's kidnapping last year, Tony and Emma both agreed that she should have a way of communicating with them – and not only through Tony's bracelet. The phone was connected to JARVIS, the A.I was now like her own Siri (if not better, her dad said). It functioned as a normal, high-tech phone would, she could download games, take photos, surf on the internet but before Primrose could get too excited, she was explained the most important feature of the phone: the Alert app that Tony specifically created for his daughter.

If Primrose was ever in danger, all she needed to say was 'Alert!' and JARVIS would immediately give the red alarm to Tony and to whoever was on the 'Watch List' which was basically almost every adult in the room.

Primrose loved her gift, she felt so mature by owning her first phone ever. Harley instant curiosity was shown was she gladly let him see the phone and go through it to inspect all the apps. He even recommended her a few mobile games that he personally liked playing on his mom's phone. That made Primrose realize that even though she had a phone, none of her friends had one. That made her sad, so she made one last birthday request to her dad.

If he could give two Stark phones to Harley and Hanae when she returns.

Her own phone was special but Tony didn't mind offering two normal Stark phones, especially if it was for Primrose to keep contact with her friends. Harley almost panicked – amusing Tony – when he did return with a closed package with a Stark Phone and its charger inside, the kid really tried to refuse it but both Starks were able to convince him that it was fine, and in the end they did it when Primrose sweetly told him about just wanting to keep contact and practice her texting with him.

Harley gave up and humbly accepted the phone, promising Tony he'd take good care of it. The genius shrugged and almost told him that if he broke it he'd get him another but he decided to hold it back.

Mabel and Marian complained, demanding to have a phone as well but Joan quickly intervened and told them they were both too young, Primrose didn't miss when Harley stuck his tongue at his sister and she gently elbowed him in his ribs for him to stop teasing her. His response was a wince followed by laughter.

After her birthday, and a little bit late, an envelope came in the mail for Primrose was she was excited because she never got mail. After making sure it was safe, Tony gave it to her and she saw that it was from Steve. Grinning widely, she opened it and took the Birthday postcard from inside. The cover said 'Here's to you kiddo, you're twelve today!' and she had to laugh while Tony rolled his eyes. She opened it and both read what Steve had written:

_'Happy birthday Primrose, I hope this got to you in time_  ("well it didn't"/"Dad, hush!")  _and I hope you had a good day. I used the dollar you sent me to buy myself some candy, sorry! Have twenty bucks on me, but don't spend it on candy as I did. –Steve :)'_

"How does he know how to do a smiley face and why did it do it," Tony immediately asked, looking disgusted at the writing.

Primrose grinned but didn't answer. She just grabbed the twenty dollars bill and pocketed, trying to think about what she was going to spend in.

"There's something else inside the envelope," her sad told her with a grumpy tone after she didn't answer his question.

Primrose blinked and smiled even further when she realized what it was, he didn't have to do that. What she wasn't expecting was to see a detailed sketch of her, sitting under a tree and drawing on her sketchbook. Comparing to her drawing, Steve's was a masterpiece.

"I didn't know Mr. Rogers could draw" she drawled in awe, and Tony had to whistle in appreciation.

"That sure is a good drawing of my beautiful baby girl," he cooed, suddenly bringing her close into a tight hug and knocking out her impressed expression.

"Dad!" she complained, laughing at the same time.

Later that night, Primrose placed the drawing in the photo album Joan gave her and smiled at it, admiring and happy that she filled a page. It might not be a photo but it was certainly a good memory to remember.

* * *

**_November, 2013_ **

Primrose missed Thor.

But she wasn't expecting him seeing the Thunder Norse God on the television, fighting in London, England. She didn't know what happened, all she had seen was what it looked like a tornado made of dark, negative energy taking over the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. She quickly called her dad and he was just as fast to explain that Thor had won and what she was watching was old footage – still, she worried a lot and asked if Thor was back in New York but Tony said that he was still in London, with his lady friend.

Primrose was confused at that, she didn't know Thor had a girlfriend.

Nevertheless, she was actually relieved everything happened outside of the country. She couldn't handle another event where the world was threatened and her dad had to go save it, at least this one only took Thor to win. So next time she'd see him, Primrose would definitely hug him.

The therapy sessions have been going on for forty-six weeks now.


	34. A Shocking T-Shirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is happening at the beginning of the chapter: The Winter Soldier is. I'm not going to write Primrose in it, as I stated previously, she will only take part in the movies where Tony appears.
> 
> PS: Sorry about the late chapter! 'Age of Ultron' begins in the next chapter, are you as excited as I am?
> 
> >> DON'T SPOIL FAR FROM HOME ON THE COMMENTS <<
> 
> Valeria Hernández faceclaim is Cierra Ramirez.

**_Primrose's Age: Twelve years old._ **

**_Date: January 12th, 2014_ **

Primrose didn't know what was happening, but when her dad picked her up from Queens and told her mom would meet them back at the tower – she was scared that yet another life-threatening situation was about to occur.

She has been hanging around the new tower for a while now, but Primrose couldn't believe how much renovated the Avengers Tower was.

The top twelve floors include luxury rooms for the Avengers. But only Bruce was currently living there since the rest of the team was gone. Each room was designed and decorated according to the specific need or desire of its occupant. There are several dozen unassigned rooms that are used for guests or visitors as needed. There is a state of the art fitness room, private theater, medical area, kitchen, and the former penthouse serves as a common room.

Her room was on floor eighty, it was Tony and Pepper's apartment. The floor was under the party deck and it was redesigned as an apartment for the couple and Primrose. The three are the only ones that have unlimited access to that floor, but guests are allowed.

Her dad's workshop was on floor seventy-nine, just below them. It's where Tony works on his latest suit designs and inventions. Pepper has access to the workshop and Primrose is only allowed there if her dad is, it was the same rule they had when they were living in Malibu. There is a private freight elevator for moving large pieces into and out of the workshop that connects to his ground-floor garage workshop – Primrose sometimes rides it to travel quickly between floors.

Stark Industries was from floor seventy-eight to the first one. Everything below Tony's workshop belongs to her dad's industries.

Floor seventy-eight and seventy-seven contain the executive offices. Her dad's office was next to Pepper's so Primrose easily could visit them. Floor seventy-six contained various board rooms and meeting rooms. Floor seventy-five to sixty-six are dedicated to R&D.

Floor seventy-five was also Bruce's lab and is the topmost secure floor. Bruce and Tony have unlimited access to it and the Doctor has been given the authority to allow or deny access on a case by case basis. Sometimes Bruce invited Primrose there so he could have some company whenever Tony was busy, they would work together on her Extremis. Her situation has become better. Excalibur is proving to be a successful vaccine and her blood was starting to look normal again.

Floor seventy-four through seventy was the classified sections of R&D usually dealing with SHIELD or other government agencies. Whenever Natasha and Steve visited they would have meetings with Fury and her dad there, Primrose wasn't really allowed but she enjoyed their visit during Christmas – they stayed for two days.

Floor sixty-nine through sixty-six were the business and philanthropic research areas. Floor sixty-five to sixty-one contained several biological laboratories. Floor sixty to fifty-six are for testing various new Stark designs, that is where her Stark Phone was actually created. Floor fifty-five to floor two contained everything else needed for Stark Industries business functioning.

And finally, floor one had the lobby area where the public came into Stark Tower. There's also the private access area for the Avengers and Tony's garage workshop. The floors below Stark Tower contain the Arc Reactor that runs the entire building.

Her dad left her on their apartment floor, in the living room where the television was turned on in the WHiH World News channel. Primrose disliked watching that channel because of Christine Everhart, while she was waiting for her dad to come back, Primrose sat down on the couch and sighed, trying not to feel anxious about the unknown situation that was stressing her dad.

"JARVIS can you change the channel?"

_"Your father is very attentive to the news, Miss, that wouldn't be a good idea."_

She frowned, "What's going on?"

_"I'm not allowed to tell you, Miss. But I do know that your father is currently speaking with Ms. Potts at the moment if you just wait for a little while you might know."_

That didn't sound good enough for her. Primrose wanted to know why she was suddenly taken and brought here. She got her answer when she looked at the television and saw a live feed of three helicarriers destroying it each other in Washington D.C.

Shocked, Primrose quickly sat down on the sofa and turned the volume up.

 _"We have no information yet to what is happening but as you can see, a probable malfunction is happening right on top of the Triskelion building. The helicarriers are slowly falling into the Potomac River but one of them has fallen on one of the buildings!"_ The reporter's voice, a woman that sounded frantic, informed. The cameraman only showed what was currently happening in the sky above, and Primrose couldn't help but sense that Steve was involved with this.

"But what do you mean HYDRA?! I thought St–Prim!"

Primrose didn't even look behind when she Pepper's voice approached the room. She could feel her dad's steps walking towards and when he took the seat next to her, the brunette knew this was bad.

"Why is Prim here?!" Pepper exclaimed, walking up to them.

"I don't want her alone when this is happening, they might come for her," Tony replied, watching the television intently.

His daughter rolled her eyes, she wasn't exactly alone because of Louise Hopper, her fixed babysitter for already eight years had been watching over her as always until her mom would return home.

"Emma?" Pepper questioned.

"She already knows, and she's coming here right after work," Tony replied distracted by what was happening on the television, "Dammit Rogers, why didn't you call?" he mumbled.

Primrose heard it, and as she watched the helicarriers drop finally on the river, she gasped and felt her dad tense up, "Is... Was he in one of them? Is Mr. Rogers okay?!"

Tony arched a brow at his daughter, "How do you even know he was involved?"

"I had a feeling," Primrose told him with a concerned expression.

Tony sighed, and then he and Pepper shared a look of him asking for guidance and her giving him the consent for him to speak about it.

"Do you know what HYDRA is?"

Primrose nodded, albeit hesitantly speaking, "It was a terrorist organization that tried world domination that's been around since ancient times. But Mr. Rogers defeated the leader if ninety-forty-five, right?" Captain America was part of History lessons now, and she learned this in fourth grade. It had been a curious subject for her to learn, and Primrose felt sad that Steve had to sacrifice himself to win – but he was here now, "Why are you asking?"

"Well, I'm asking because Steve found out that HYDRA has been infiltrating many important organizations, including the United States Government and the World Security Council and SHIELD," Tony explained as Pepper sat down on the chair nearby. She had a serious expression on her face as she watched them.

Primrose's shocked expression said it all, Tony sighed and continued speaking, "Steve and Natasha they... they just saved many innocent lives right now. And they also made a new friend, she texted me as a warning and an explanation for what we are seeing."

 _"Oh my God! The two helicarriers just dropped on the river! We don't know if anyone was inside but we hope not!"_  the reporter gasped, and all eyes were on the screen.

"Mr. Rogers was in there, wasn't he?" Primrose asked meekly.

Tony frowned, and nodded, "Apparently, he wasn't alone."

"Uh?"

"That's quite enough Tony, that's all she needs to know," Pepper said, cutting in and giving her boyfriend a serious look, "I'm sure Steve is okay," she told Primrose with a strained smile.

Afterward, no one spoke again. The three just watched the news until Emma arrived with Rhodey as well. Then the waiting began, Tony was always near his cell phone, waiting for the call while Emma tried distracting Primrose and Rhodey talked with Pepper. Natasha finally called in to inform him what really went down in Washington D.C, and then she told him that Steve was in the hospital recovering but that he'd be okay.

But, Fury was dead.

Tony instantly didn't buy that, he knew that Natasha was lying and she didn't even try to do it well. But he decided not to call her out and just pretend to accept it, just like she wanted. He didn't tell the news to Primrose, she didn't need to know that.

Tony just told his family about Steve and HYDRA, and they were all relieved that he and Natasha were okay. Primrose instantly told them that she was going to make a get-well-soon card and send it to Steve, and when she left the room the adults could finally breathe and talk about the seriousness of the situation. HYDRA had been inside SHIELD, it still might be, could they even trust SHIELD now that the cat was out of the bag?

A few days later, Tony welcomed Maria Hill into his Human Resources to get her a new job. While working for Stark Industries she was interviewed and questioned by various intelligence agencies from around the world including the CIA, the NSA, and the NRO. She was also interviewed by the United States Congress, which to her were the most stressful meetings because in her view they acted like children. Despite working for Tony, she was still constantly under high-level surveillance by multiple agencies including an unknown Russian agency.

But Tony did the best he could to protect her.

* * *

**_March 2014_ **

March brings in Spring. And Spring means new beginnings, the flowers are blossoming, the cold weather is disappearing and everyone was putting away their winter clothing to bring out their colorful, spring ones.

But nothing was careful about this situation, in fact, everyone seemed to be wearing black. Because unfortunately, Arthur Evans, Emma's dad had suddenly passed away at the age of sixty-one years old during his sleep.

Abigail, Emma's mom, called her at four in the morning (New York time) after Arthur was rushed into the E.R and one hour later, after waiting for another call, Primrose was momentarily traumatized by the painful howl her mother gave after receiving the news that her dad didn't make it.

Three days later, there she was. Watching her father's casket going down the hole while Primrose hugged her and Rhodey held her hand for comfort and support. Tony was holding his daughter's hand and he was devasted because he had liked Arthur. The man seemed to be so lively. It's true that he hasn't seen Emma's dad in a while with all that happened but honestly, this feels like a great loss since he respected the man and Arthur had given him advice on how to be a father.

Primrose just felt numb, ever since she lost her home in Malibu she hasn't visited her grandparents, only sometimes during summer, but they talked at least twice a week over the phone and Primrose loved her grandpa so much, he would always tell her stories how the fifties and the sixties and when Captain America was found alive her grandpa excitedly asked her if he could sign the comic books he had bought as a child. Primrose did that, and she was glad she did because she couldn't imagine not complying to her grandpa's wishes before he died. The twelve-year-old felt her stomach sink down every time her mom let out a painful sob. She felt bad for her, Primrose couldn't imagine what it was like to lose a good father as Arthur had been.

Even Joan showed up to show her respects. Arthur had been like a second father to her when Emma brought her home to meet them during their college years. Jack stayed back in New York with Mabel and Min-Jun because they thought a funeral would be too much for the little ones, but Joan told Abigail and Emma that he sends his condolences and that if they need anything the Danner family is going to help as much as they can.

Abigal couldn't stop wiping her eyes with her white handkerchief, she was at a loss of words and feelings because she had just lost the man just loved and married so unexpectedly. And he was far too young to have died. Her husband deserved to see his granddaughter grow up into a fine woman that Abigail knew Primrose would be. But he was gone and there was nothing she could so, so for now, all Abigail could to best hold back her tears and play the role of a strong woman and was just relieved to have the presence of her family on this troubling time.

Emma felt mostly guilty for not visiting more. Rhodey assured her that Arthur knew she loved him. She was just glad that her dad at least got to know Rhodey when Emma brought him home for dinner last month, her parents adored Rhodey and they all got along well. But now those happy moments were just sad memories now. And Emma couldn't stop thinking about Primrose, how saddened she was that her daughter had to witness her grandpa dying so soon and sudden.

After the funeral, Emma, Rhodey, Tony, Primrose, and Joan all retreated back to Abigail's house for dinner and to talk about Arthur's testamentary will that he decided to make when he suffered a car crash two years ago that almost took his life.

For starters, seventy-five percent of his life-savings went to his wife. As such all of the photo albums, the house, car and the promise of visiting him at least once a week at the cemetery.

Every art collection he had and all of his toys and comic books from his childhood that Abigail had stored in a box were now Primrose's, that included a silver pocket watch that he received as payment for rescuing a dog that belonged to a wealthy man when he was twelve years old. Primrose promised to take care of it.

To Emma, her dad left her twenty-five percent of his life-saving and they all found out that he was also leaving the remaining five-percent for Primrose. Emma instantly said that she'd put that money in Primrose's bank account that she and Tony created when their daughter turned one-year-old, to help her in the future. Primrose had no idea she had a bank account, but apparently, her parents have been putting money on it and counting as monthly allowance. Tony and Emma told her she would start using that account when she turns sixteen years old.

After reading the will, Joan left back to New York but not after giving Abigail a big hug and showing her the photos of her family, and Abigail didn't hold back when she stated how proud she was of Joan for achieving what she always wanted.

After she left, Tony decided to stay for the night and used the couch as his bed (a fun experience) while Emma shared the bed with her mom and Primrose slept in a bedroom that once had belonged to her mom when she was a teenager.

It was like she entered nineteens when she was in that room.

Her mom's old bedroom still had a few posters with TV shows and music bands from that era and Primrose didn't recognize some of them. When Emma came to tuck her in, Primrose asked if her grandpa was in a better place. Emma dutifully said yes, that his soul was now at rest and that the universe doesn't waste anything. Primrose took it as if he was now a star, burning billions of light-years away from Earth and shining bright.

Her mom's bed was right next to the window, and while everyone was asleep, Primrose stared at the starry night sky with wonder. She felt like crying but at the same time, she felt at peace. And then, when she closed her eyes, she missed the shooting star passing by quickly, just above the house.

* * *

**_June 2014_ **

After another therapy session with Dr. Holland, Primrose felt better after a tough week. She had a nightmare, different from the others. This nightmare wasn't about fire, like usual, it was about her alone in a room with mirrors on the walls. All she could see was herself but each Primrose from each mirror's reflections were grinning at her – and she was not.

More than scary, it had been creepy.

Some good news was that her mom was starting to feel better after her dad's death. And whenever Primrose felt sad she would draw a star and glue in on the wall just behind her bed. She was starting to like space again, because if she kept thinking that her grandpa was part of it, maybe it wasn't as scary as she thought it was after the Chitauri Attack two years ago.

She was excited about summer vacation because this would be her last vacation as a homeschool student. Her Extremis has been inactive enough to be considered dormant and the proof was that after suffering a great loss two months ago her emotions didn't overtake the virus in her blood system and Bruce was confident enough to think that the Excalibur vaccine works.

Still, the doctor would sometimes draw some blood out of her and keep those syringes safely locked in a container for testing. When Primrose told Bruce about how Killian tested her Extremis mixed blood on animals and almost all of them were cured, the man's scientist side became curious and with Tony's consent, he decided to begin testing as well.

Not caring much about that, Primrose could only think that this was going to be a great summer. And even though the mood was still a little down after her grandpa's death, her mom told her that everything was going to be okay and that her grandma would even come to New York for the first time and stay for a week! Primrose couldn't wait to show her around the city and especially Queens, the best part of New York in her opinion.

* * *

**July 2014**

Primrose laughed when Harley hit her with a water balloon, but his celebration didn't last when Hanae hit him with one as well.

It was now mid-July and Harley was back, staying for two weeks again. Primrose was shocked when she first saw him for the first time in eleven months. Sure, they talked online and also played games but seeing him face-to-face threw her a little off the loop. For starters, he was taller and his voice was deeper. He had just turned thirteen-years-old so puberty was really hitting him well. His sandy hair was still long and flowy and his blue eyes were wider and more focused, truly, Primrose felt her stomach flip when she saw him.

But those weird feelings disappeared instantly when he opened his mouth and said something silly. Primrose laughed and felt like she just got her best friend back, and not a cute boy that made her feel strange. This time, when they went to the tower to drop Harley's stuff on his room, Primrose was able to do something she always wanted: introduce her two best friends to each other.

Because yes, her dad told her she can have more than one best friend but she couldn't tell Hanae and Harley that, or else it could get ugly.

At first, Hanae was quiet and kind of judgemental against Harley. She'd roll her eyes at his antics and even expressed how loud he was sometimes, and Primrose was nervous when Harley acted even worse just to tick her off. But it all ended when they started a water balloon fight, apparently, both could get competitive and Primrose watched them go from truly trying to kill each other with water balloons to have a friendly competition. Primrose honestly felt like she was in the middle of a passive-aggressive war and she was the game changer because every time they asked her if she wanted to do something and if she preferred one thing to the other – the person she chose would smirk.

Three days later of constant hanging out, Hanae really warmed up to Harley and decided that his personality could sometimes remind her of Primrose, except Primrose was better, she had said.

Harley didn't take it personally, he even laughed and agreed.

Tony and Emma were so relieved that her daughter had friends her age, they were both nervous about allowing their daughter to finally attend school and that the 'social groups' in it would be too overwhelming for Primrose. Dr. Holland has expressed that she would be fine and that it was important for this to happen for Primrose to learn about the outside world. Tony knew he couldn't coddle her forever, she was almost thirteen years old and she was about to enter a stage of her life that was very important.

So Emma and Tony started to talk about which school would be best. They definitely didn't want her to be in a private school, Tony was fine with a public school but he still wanted the best for his little girl. And a school whose students won't go ballistic when they find out that Tony Stark's daughter was going to be attending. Rhodey and Pepper also helped because as godparents they also had the right to do it.

They found the Hamilton Grange School. Located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and recently built on the third floor of PS 192 and close by Alexander Hamilton's state. They investigated the school's website and liked what they saw. They even had a good Art program. Emma called the school and made an appointment for a School Tour in two days at nine in the morning. Nervous, the two decided not to tell Primrose yet, they didn't want to get her hopes up and then disappoint her when the school wasn't good enough.

Two days later, Primrose was left in the tower with Harley while Rhodey supervised them while the two visited the school. Tony quickly asked about the school's curriculum, electives, and clubs. Emma was surprised at how immersed he was. Emma slightly noticed the look of awe of the other parents that were also on the tour, because Tony Stark was probably going to sign his daughter in this school so even the Principal was a little bit anxious.

Tony and Emma ended up liking the school, and after meeting some of the staff and continuing on with the tour, they stayed behind so they could talk with the Principal, whose name was Bernard Levi, about having a worldwide famous person as his student. Principal Levi assured that they would treat Primrose like any other normal student and that the school at a secure environment with two policemen outside the doors and impeccable students that came from well-respected families.

The meeting ended with Tony stating that his daughter would be dropped off and picked up by a man named Happy Hogan and if that ever changed he or Emma would call the school ahead to warn them. The emergency list was also given, only her parents, godparents and Happy were listed in case Primrose was sick or injured.

When they returned home and told Primrose that she was going to a middle school, Primrose screamed and cheered so loudly that the video game control that Harley was currently using was tossed from him being startled by it. Primrose has never felt more excited in her life, she hugged her parents and asked them many questions about her new school, Tony and Emma were instantly glad that they made this decision because only Primrose's happiness is what mattered to them.

* * *

**_August 2014_ **

The moment Primrose learned that her school had its own uniform, she was ecstatic, because she had been actually nervous about what to wear on her first day. Now that the first semester was only less than a month away, the reality was starting to drop and Primrose was beginning to feel anxious about going to a public school.

At least she liked her uniform. Primrose would have to use khaki pleated skirt (just one inch above her knees) or khaki flat-front slacks but when she tried the slacks she didn't like how they felt so she opted to use the skirt. Then, she would have to use royal blue short/long-sleeved polo with the school's logo, a light grey t-shirt or sweatshirt on days that she'd have Gym. There were more clothing options that her parents bought, such as a Heather grey v-neck sweater vest with the logo, a Heather v-neck cardigan sweater, and black reversible belt. But decisively, she'd wear the Heather charcoal grey ribbed tights underneath her skirt. During Wintertime, she'd get a royal-blue hoodie with the school's logo.

Emma gushed all over Primrose when she tried every piece of clothing that belonged to the school's uniform. She took a lot of photos and sent them to anyone that cared about Primrose, even Abigail called to squeal about how cute and sophisticated her granddaughter looked.

Primrose was a reck, but she waited patiently for the day to come. She sent the photos that her mom took on her Snapchat's groupchat that consisted of her, Harley and Hanae. Both of her friends were happy for her, and Hanae promised to try and convince her parents to let her study on Primrose's school next year. Harley commented on how good she looked in blue and Primrose found herself blushing at his compliment, without knowing why. The three kept texting each other and Hanae asked her if she had an Instagram. Primrose said no because her dad warned her about being active on social media at such a young age.

Tony had a Twitter, and that was it. He rarely used it, the Stark Industries Twitter was more active than his account.

Hanae understood, she only used her Instagram to post Karate aesthetics and to post the photos she took while studying in Japan. It was also a way for her to keep in contact with her family there. Harley stated that he was going to create an account there if Primrose did as well, but she had been too nervous and felt like she was disobeying her parents if she created it behind their backs – so she decided to wait until she turned thirteen and ask them.

But she knew that if she created one, she'd post her drawings there. And maybe begin training more on her digital skills.

* * *

**_September 2014_ **

The day was finally here. Primrose's first day in a public school.

She woke up an hour before her alarm and quickly took care her of her hygiene before dressing up her school's uniform (choosing to go with the skirt, tights, polo, and the sweater vest as the upper clothing) and getting some breakfast. Dr. Holland told her that it was important that she remained calm, and that feeling anxious about meeting new people and going to a new environment was normal.

Another thing that was new was the haircut she got last week. Her long, chestnut hair that had almost reached her hips was gone to shoulder-length, and Primrose liked the freedom and how quickly washing it was now. She was currently at her dad's (Emma sulked at the fact that her first day of school was laid on the week that Tony had her).

In a sense, it felt weird for Primrose to not see her usual tutor, it was hard saying goodbye after six years of lessons and learning.

When she was done with breakfast, Primrose brushed her teeth and realized she still has at least thirty minutes before Happy would come to get her for school. So she decided to watch some cartoons and try to not start a panic attack right there, she just hoped her Extremis wouldn't ruin everything.

When it was time, and while Happy rode her to school, Primrose was glad her dad was sitting right next to her, holding her hand as he too, tried not to panic. His little girl was going somewhere for seven hours and Tony felt helpless about not being able to watch over Primrose during those hours. Tony tried to give her advice, but he didn't know what to say. He attended college at a young age and didn't experience middle school normally. Generation Z was a very different generation of kids and he didn't know how they acted, he only knows that they were starting to depend on social media a lot and Tony feared the day Primrose would eventually join in.

When Happy parked by the curb, Tony let out a big sigh and watched as Primrose got her backpack and lunchbox. When it was time to leave the car, Happy jokingly locked the doors, making Primrose roll her eyes. After saying goodbye to both, she left the car and walked straight to the stairs of the school's building. Only after Primrose entered was when both Tony and Happy finally started breathing again. Both talked about how they couldn't believe how grown Primrose was, and they both tried to hide their tears.

Inside the school, Primose had been overwhelmed by emotions. She has never seen so many kids, other than in Hunters Point Park, but this was different. So of these kids were her age, or older and most of them had already grouped and started chatting amongst themselves. They had to gather in the cafeteria but Primrose felt that if she looked at the map she would feel judgmental eyes on her. It was like, as she walked down the hall, all eyes were on her. She tried to ignore it because maybe she was just being paranoid but she still felt overwhelmed by everything.

During the day, Primrose learned that most of her classmates knew each other from the previous year but without counting her, there were three new students as well to the school. The desks managed two students, so Primrose was thinking about how to start a conversation with her deskmate, a redhead girl whose hair was dressed up with two twin-tails. Primrose was thinking about introducing herself, but the girl was more interested in her friend sitting on the desk behind them.

When Primrose was finally about to speak, the girl turned to her with a smile and asked if Primrose minded if she switched her seat with her friend so they could sit together. The brunette stuttered as she looked between the redhead, and her friend, and wanting to please them, she said yes. The two seemed happy but Primrose felt defeated during the switching. She watched as the girl that had taken her seat chatted amicably with the redhead and sighed, feeling like a failure.

Then the girl next to her, that was seated previously next to the redhead's friend, suddenly introduced herself as Valeria Hernández and asked if Primrose was new. Surprised, she said yes and told the girl her name. Instantly, Primrose saw Valeria's eyes shine with recognition but to her relief, she didn't say anything about it. The two talked even more, and Primrose found out that Valeria's dad is a senior partner with a law firm, her mom was a college teacher and taught Latin American Studies and that she had two older siblings, a brother named Carlos and a sister named Ana.

Primrose decided to share about her life as well. She told Valeria about her parents, she didn't have any siblings but she told her about Hanae, who was like a sister to her. Valeria admitted that she knew how Primrose was, but the friendly mood between the two didn't drop afterward, in fact, they seemed to be comfortable around each other.

After two periods of Humanities and Math, Primrose and Valeria remained together, casually chatting about anything. Valeria expressed how normal it was to be nervous and that she knew what Primrose was feeling, she hadn't been homeschooled but until this semester, her parents had enrolled her in a private academy where everyone was basically molded the same and snobby. She had finally convinced her parents to enroll her here, it was a public school but at least it was one of the best in the city.

As school progressed after lunch, Primrose started to notice that some of the students were talking about her in hushed voices, and there was also the occasional staring. As soon as the word got around that Tony Stark's daughter was also attending Hamilton Grange School almost everyone's attention seemed to shift on her, but some of the students didn't seem to care. And that was good. The last thing Primrose wanted was to have everyone's attention because of who her dad was.

That's why she liked Valeria. She asked questions about her mom, and Primrose proudly gushed that her mom was a psychologist and that she healed people. When the opportunity to talk about her mom came, Primrose didn't hesitate on telling people how amazing and hard-working she was.

Valeria praised that, she told Primrose that she either wanted to be a judge like her dad or an actress. She even told Primrose that she was going to sign in the school's Drama Club. Valeria also had dancing lessons every Friday and Saturday and that she was in the Commercial and TV/Film division in the agency 'Take 3 Talent'. Primrose was awed and complimented Valeria on being so ambitious but asked if she wasn't overwhelmed by her busy schedule. Apparently, she was used to it and she actually enjoyed a busy life.

Valeria then asked if she was going to sign up in an after-school club. Primrose told her that she didn't know, she had to see what clubs there were but she did mention she liked drawing. It was too early anyway, it was only the first day of school.

When the last school bell for the day rang, Primrose and Valeria walked towards the building's entrance and said their goodbyes because Valeria would be taking the school's bus home while Primrose had spotted her dad's car with Happy standing outside, waving at her. When they went their separate ways, Primrose noticed a few reporters behind held back by a chain of a police squad, and she saw Happy making his way towards her quickly. Apparently, someone inside the school had anonymously called WHiH World News and tipped them about Primrose Evans-Stark's whereabouts and enrollment.

Primrose only had time to hear Christine Everhart between the many voices from the reporters that were throwing questions at her and flashing their cameras at the same time before Happy literally scooped her up and quickly carried to the car, when he opened the door she quickly made her way inside before Happy closed the door and made his way to the driver's seat. Primrose stared at the bundle of reporters, taking photos in her direction through the tinted windows of the car. She sighed, smiling sadly when Happy finally began to drive away.

She put on her seatbelt and closed her eyes, taking in the fresh memories of her first day on a public school. It wasn't like she wasn't prepared to get the media's attention, even her parents warned her about the possibilities, she was just content that she was finally among other kids her age. And she was not letting that little mishap ruin her day.

Emma had been waiting with Tony in the tower and both quickly walked up to Primrose as soon as she arrived. Not only because they were worried about all of the reporters waiting for her outside the school but because they wanted to know how her day went.

Primrose told them she was fine and they all sat down to let her talk. She told them about Valeria and about the teachers, and that even though the day had been filled with a rollercoaster of emotions, at the end of the day, she still wanted to go back.

As the first weeks of September went by, both Emma and Tony saw Primrose grow more comfortable around her new school, they were glad that she wasn't roaming the halls by herself with Valeria still being mentioned. Both Rhodey and Pepper were also very happy that Primrose was fitting well in public school, they were very supportive of the decision and both knew Primrose was going to adjust well.

* * *

**_October 2014_ **

When Primrose's birthday came, she was already well acquainted enough with Valeria to be brave enough to ask her if she wanted to come to her party since her birthday ended up being on a Friday this year, she asked her dad if she could have a birthday sleepover party and Tony said yes, as long there wouldn't be any boys.

With that, he meant Hugo Cooper. A boy that tripped on a stone during recess and fell right in front of Primrose and Valeria, startling them. The brunette quickly helped him up and felt bad for him. Hugo was from their class and is always seen alone, playing on his Nintendo Wii U. He's also easily scared and very clumsy so Primrose decided to befriend him and help him become more confident – which was proving to be a hard job. Nevertheless, she wasn't giving up.

But oh well, he couldn't be invited to the party. But Hugo said he didn't mind because girls scare him, Primrose and Valeria were the exceptions but it seemed that some girls at school liked to make fun of his looks and derpy attitude, which troubled Primrose.

Hanae and Valeria were the only girls that Primrose really knew well, of course, that the brunette talked with a few of her classmates but only during classes and they all seemed more interested in knowing more about her dad and herself. So Primrose didn't care if she didn't have a large group of friends, her dad always taught her that when you're famous, you have to keep a small circle of friends around you because those are the ones you can really trust.

During the party, an anxious Tony allowed the three teens to order pizza and utilize the movie theater to watch television on the big screen. They watched the new episodes of Awkward. and Valeria introduced Hanae and Primrose to 'Vampire Diaries', which the Japanese found a little bit cliché, but amusing. Primrose didn't know what to think, she had laughed a lot when she watched the entire 'Twilight' saga with her dad. They binge-watched every movie and by the end, her dad was secretly into it. She pretended not to know it though, because he could be a softie sometimes. But she still didn't know what to think about mythical creatures being incorporated in television shows and movies, she had literally seen real aliens and met Norse Gods so now she thought that everything was possible in this world.

Speaking of Norse Gods, while Hanae and Valeria chatted over 'Vampire Diaries' Primrose began missing Thor and the rest of the team. She saw Bruce all the time but she hasn't seen Steve and Natasha in a while, and that made her sad. But she wasn't going to allow herself to be sad on her thirteenth birthday, because she could officially call herself a teen!

The girls stayed up almost all night, celebrating and eating cake and Primrose felt bad that it was just the three of them, but she knew that Saturday she'd have her family dinner and then everyone would celebrate her birthday together. Besides, she was excited because her mom and Rhodey both had gotten a gift for her and they have been very secretive about it.

When Saturday came, Tony needed JARVIS's assistance to wake up the three girls after they pulled an all-nighter, it was only at three in the afternoon when he managed to give them lunch and get them ready to be taken to their homes. When they left, Primrose rolled her eyes when her dad sighed loudly and told her that he basically was ready to handle another baby after watching over three teen girls. It helped that they were well-behaved but Primrose didn't want to ruin the smug attitude that her dad loved having.

As the day prolonged as everyone began arriving, Primrose tried to pry the secret gift out of her mom and Rhodey, but neither would budge. She saw her mom carrying a pink bag that was stapled shut so Primrose couldn't even peek inside, and she had to admit it was driving her insane. So when dinner came, Primrose ate fast to hurry things up. She would watch her parents, her godparents, Happy, Joan, Jack, Mabel and Min-Jun eat and she would try to hurry them up. Since she finished dinner fast, Primrose volunteered to feed little Min-Jun, who was now three years old. She just loved babies, and momentarily she even forgot about the secret gift because of how cute Min-Jun was acting.

Emma and Rhodey exchanged a look at how Primrose acted around the toddler, and they decided to finally give the gift to her. Everyone at the table was quiet, and Primrose didn't miss Joan pulling her phone to start recording the moment, she didn't think much of it since her Aunt like recording a lot of moments, Primrose was more interested in the ping bag being given to her.

She opened it and pulled a t-shirt from inside of it, she wasn't underwhelmed by it because when she read the words that the front of the shirt said, her heart skipped a beat.

It said 'Big Sister'.

Primrose wasn't stupid. Her parents told her many times that she wasn't. Shocked, she turned the t-shirt around and saw everyone's expressions equal hers as the people in the room that didn't know also realized what it meant.

Her mom was pregnant.


	35. Party Pooper - Age of Ultron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I won't lie. I suck at writing fight scenes, I'm sorry. I need to get better because from now on there will be a lot of them.

**Primrose's Age: Thirteen years old.**

**April 25th, 2015  
Saturday, 5:44 PM**

A lot of things happened during these past seven months.

Firstly, her mom was now in her sixth month of pregnancy. And she was having a boy, Primrose was more than excited to be having a little brother. When Rhodey got the news that he was having a son, he emotionally requested Emma to name him after his deceased father. Emma agreed at once, so her brother had now a name and it was Terrence Arthur, honoring both of his late grandfathers. At the news that she was going to be a grandma again, Abigail cried on the phone, expressing how happy she was and loved that her daughter was honoring Arthur in that manner. Tony and Pepper were happy for them. Tony knew his brother was going to be a good father and he knew that Emma was genuinely happy about having this baby. This time, she had her life sorted out and she even gained experience with Primrose. Everything was going to be okay.

Secondly, Primrose didn't believe that in two months she was graduating sixth grade. Her first experience in a public school had been challenging, but she ended up fitting in well thanks to Valeria. Without knowing, Primrose was popular in her school. Not only her parental status helped her, but her skills as an artist and newfound talent for acting helped her progress up the social pyramid her school had. Not only that, Primrose was a social butterfly and friendly as she could be, she also had good grades (she struggled a little in Math and Algebra I) and the faculty thought she was a nice and polite girl. Never had Tony and Emma been so proud. At the beginning of the semester, Primrose had signed up in the Art Club and almost signed up in the Robotics Club as well, but quickly walked away from that idea when she thought how much she could embarrass herself when everyone realizes she wasn't like her father in that aspect.

Thirdly, she began wearing training bras – something that she detested. It made her uncomfortable at first and it took some time to get used to wearing them, but her breasts were developing and Emma had a long conversation with her about puberty and what was going to happen to her body from now on. Emma expressed that if Primrose ever needed to ask her or talk with her about something about a new thing about her body to not hesitate because it was natural and Emma has been through it as well. Tony was lost, he didn't know what to do. His little girl was now somehow moody about the littlest of things and wearing bras, BRAS! Tony didn't want to make things awkward, so he just acted like she was still ten years old and tried to ignore the signs on her body clearly stating that she was not, by far, ten anymore.

Fourthly, Primrose had created an Instagram account three months ago. In less than three days, she had more than five hundred thousand followers. Anyone that wanted a peek at Tony Stark's well-guarded daughter was paying close attention to her profile. From liking the photos that she published of her art, to even being followed by Christine Everhart and Vanity Fair Magazine. Not all was bad though, some celebrities also began following her. Some of them mostly kid celebrities but when Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the voice actor of Jim Hawkins from her still favorite movie 'Treasure Planet' followed her after she posted a drawing that she created to honor the movie and express how much she still loves it, and then thanked her for her support and the beautiful art – she squealed and her drawing went viral. So viral that everyone started to remember the movie and wanting a sequel to be made.

Fifthly, she was now into acting as well. When Valeria convinced her friend to come with her to one of her acting lessons the teacher immediately after recognizing who she was asked her if she wanted to participate in the class as well, free of charge. Primrose wasn't sure, but Valeria begged her and in the end, she gave in. At the end of the class, Primrose was praised and she realized how fun acting was. With Valeria's constant insisting, she asked her parents if they could sign her up at the talent agency where Valeria was as well. They had to discuss this thoroughly because between the Karate lessons, the after-school Art Club and the language lessons that Primrose was also having three times a week, they feared that Primrose would feel overwhelmed. But she promised she'd be fine, she liked being busy all day.

But most important, Primrose was keeping a secret from everyone, and she felt bad about it. Her Extremis had returned, but, to put it mildly, she had been self-training in controlling it. It was like the virus had returned passively, and the aggression that it carried before had vanished and become more submissive towards Primrose. In other words: Primrose was in control. She began by trying to create small fireballs within her palm. It was hard to be alone for her, and she couldn't do anything here because JARVIS would tell her dad, he was warned to warn him or Dr. Banner if another Extremis episode occurred.

But there was a place where she could have some privacy. The roof of the building where Hanae lived. It was hard telling the truth to her, but Hanae has been her friend for almost four years now and she trusted her best friend. Hanae took it well enough, she was more concerned about Primrose's mental health, but the brunette told her about Dr. Holland. The two walked about everything, and Hanae told her that if Killian was still alive she'd hunt him down and hurt him for what he did to Primrose. After both calmed down, Primrose explained that her Extremis was back, and to prove she now had more control over it, she made a tiny flame appear on the tip of her finger. It startled Hanae, but ever since the attack three years ago, seeing her best friend controlling fire was the least weird thing she needed to worry.

For four months now, Hanae has been inviting Primrose to "sleepovers", when truly, after her parents went to sleep, they would sneak to the roof for Primrose to test her new abilities. She felt bad for keeping it as a secret, especially from her dad and Dr. Banner. But if they knew, they would just create another vaccine and frankly, Primrose liked having Extremis. Not only it healed her asthma, but it also healed scratches and bruises that she'd get whenever she tripped and fell on the ground. Besides, she was much stronger as well and could run faster and jump high. Hanae and she have been testing it when they once sneaked out to the park in the middle of the night, no one was around and they went to an area covered by trees. There, Hanae watched in awe as Primrose jumped tree to tree while laughing, having fun.

But Primrose knew, if she ever told her parents, her dad especially would freak out. He saw the Extremis as a virus, as a bad thing that needed to vanish. But Primrose was different, her blood accepted the virus and even Dr. Banner said that the syringes that contained her blood mixed with the Extremis had healing capacities and were growing missing limbs on rats. Primrose didn't blame her dad, he saw people exploding because of it and Pepper almost died as well, that was the reason she was keeping it as a secret. She was going to tell him, but first Primrose wanted to be sure she had full control over it, and she was kinda hoping that in the future, she could help the Avengers.

"You okay back there, Prim?"

Primrose woke up from her deep thoughts and looked around, realizing that she was inside that car that Happy was currently driving. It was transition day and she was on her way to the Avengers Tower to stay there for the following seven days. Smiling as Happy looked at her through the rear-view mirror, she nodded and pretended to stretch her arms.

"Yep, just tired. It's been a long week of school."

After her reply, Happy relaxed his worried expression and smiled slightly as he now paid attention while driving on the Queensboro Bridge, "I can imagine. I'm proud of you for fitting so well in school, kiddo."

At that, she genuinely smiled, "Yeah. And I missed you, Happy."

"Missed you too. How's your mom?" he began, exiting the bridge into the street.

"She's doing well, Terry has been kicking a lot, yesterday he kicked so hard when my face was pressed on her belly, he hurt my nose."

Happy chuckled, "He's not here yet and you two already have a sibling rivalry going on?"

Primrose rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "No, it's a reflex. Mom told me."

Smirking amusedly, Happy couldn't help to think how much this kid has grown. She used to sit back there, beg Happy to pass by Burger King's drive-thru and buy her a cheeseburger. And now, she barely even talking during the car rides, Primrose would just stare out of the window or listen to music with her headphones, shutting everyone out.

After a pregnant silence, Primrose talked again.

"Do you know when they're coming back?" she asked, trying to hide her concern. The team has been infiltrating in HYDRA bases for months now and they were rarely at the tower, where they were safe. It worried Primrose when they were gone and even though she trusted her dad and the others to be strong and smart enough to survive, she cared about all of them and wanted this scavenging hunt for Loki's scepter to stop once and for all. At least she got to meet Doctor Helen Cho. She is a world-renowned geneticist and the leader of the U-GIN Research Group and she was called to assist the Avengers with her research and technology in the war against HYDRA. Dr. Cho was very intelligent and when they met Primrose was instantly awed.

Happy sighed. JARVIS had given The Avengers the distress call that Natasha sent from Sudan when she discovered a HYDRA army armed with tanks and Chitauri Armor.

Tony used his new suit, the Mark XLIII, a new armor that he built despite formerly initiating the Clean Slate Protocol to dedicate more time to Pepper and his daughter. Primrose didn't mind though, the world still needed Iron Man. But she just hoped everyone was fine, especially Dr. Banner since he went to Sudan as well.

"It's too soon to tell, but I'm sure they're fine. Ms. Hill will tell me if anything happened and then I'll tell you, all right?"

"I just want to see them again, I missed Thor, Mr. Barton, and Ms. Romanoff," she told him earnestly, imagining everyone eating dinner together on the lounge of the party deck again. And then Primrose would show Thor funny Youtube videos and educate him on Midgardian humor and current speech, then Mr. Barton would let her watch as he practiced with his bow and arrow, it was always fascinating to watch him never miss a bullseye. Ever since he returned from England, his main objective was to get Loki's Scepter back now that the Avengers knew it was in HYDRA's hands. But there was always time to bond, and Thor was fond of Primrose. It seems that all of them were, and the ones that haven't seen her since she was ten years old were very shocked to see how much she had grown.

"They'll be back soon, don't worry. Meanwhile, you and Pepper have the floor all to yourselves so you two can have a ladies night," as he heard Primrose laugh at his statement, he felt accomplished and continued driving with a smile that only a few people could form.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the parking lot underneath the tower. Happy carried the small bag that Primrose would always bring, it had the digital graphic drawing tablet that her father made and gave her last Christmas. She was getting used to digital drawing but drawing traditionally would always win for her.

"Hi, Uncle JARVIS!" Primrose greeted happily right as she stepped inside the parking lot's elevator.

 _"Hello Ms. Evans-Stark, always a pleasure to see you,"_ the A.I replied just as enthusiastically.

Happy cleared his throat as the elevator doors closed.

 _"Ah, and of course, always nice to see you too, Mr. Hogan,"_  JARVIS added, his tone of voice more robotic, but hidden with amusement knowing that he was teasing the head of security.

"Hm," Happy rolled his eyes as Primrose snorted at her favorite A.I's humor.

JARVIS took them to the floor eighty, and when they exited the elevator, Primrose was slightly hopeful that her dad would be waiting for them but she knew he wouldn't, or else JARVIS would've warned them. Happy walked behind her as they made their way. As she entered her bedroom, she realized that this was a good opportunity to use the gym without anyone interrupting her, all she had to do was wait for Happy to go back downstairs and continue working. She watched as he carefully placed her bag on her bed, and feigning being distracted, Primrose casually walked up to her desk and started humming while roaming through her one of her already finished sketchbooks.

"So, uh, I'm gonna go back down and Pepper will by home by eight. You'll be fine on your own?" Happy asked, as usual, he is worried over her.

She turned at him and flashed him a smile, "Yup. I'm thirteen, remember? I can watch over myself. Besides, JARVIS will tell you if I accidentally start a fire if I try to make pop tarts, won't you?" she looked up, directing her smile now at the A.I watching them.

_"Certainly, Miss. Although you are a good cook, better than your parents, if I may."_

Not to brag, but Primrose agreed. Whilst her dad has been improving, her mom still was a disaster when it came down to cooking. Mrs. Hooper always had to leave dinner ready before leaving or else they would only eat take-out food – which wasn't a bad thing, but a waste of money. Luckily, Primrose was learning how to cook. She knew how to prepare basic food like ramen noodles, omelets, pancakes, rice, and she could also fry meat as well. But Emma was always anxious about letting her cook when she was home alone so Primrose wasn't allowed to use the stove and the oven if she was home alone.

Happy still looked like he was hesitant about leaving her, Tony was always here when he dropped her off but Primrose wouldn't back down.

"Happy," she walked up to him, and grabbed his chubby cheeks, "I'll be fine..." she said, pinching them and spreading them apart to create a forced smile on his lips. His unamused expression not matching the wide grin made her laugh.

"Fine," he muttered, gently grabbing her wrists and pushing them down, away from his face, "But if you need anything–"

"I know, I know I tell JARVIS to call you or Pepper." she cut him, rolling her eyes affably.

Happy squinted at her, "You're starting to act like your dad more and more each day young lady, I don't like it," he began heading out as Primrose bit her lower-lip to refrain from smiling too much, "I-I already had to watch over an erratic Stark, I don't need another one stressing me out," he continued, Primrose listening to him ranting as he walked down the hall, "I'm too young to have white hair! Too young!"

She covered her mouth and giggled when he was finally gone. Happy could be so goofy sometimes.

She was alone. And quickly enough, she practically skipped to her walk-in closet and quickly changed from her light-blue skinny jeans and pink hoodie to a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Once again, she frowned at the sight of her training bra but decided to not let it ruin her mood. Being home alone made her feel mature, and she could work-out more freely, without having her dad coddle her and tell her not to lift heavy weights or tire herself too much. His excuse before was because of her asthma, but that nasty thing had been gone for almost three years now, and Primrose was going to enjoy it.

Her karate lessons also helped her stay in shape, that's why Primrose was now a brown belt in Karate and she wouldn't like by saying that she always had to hold back during sparring lessons or else she could easily hurt the other Karate students – especially Hanae, who always paired up with her.

Before going to the gym, Primrose grabbed a small towel and filled her sports bottle with fresh water.

 _"Going to work out, Miss?"_  JARVIS inquired as she was filling it.

"Yup, I'm in the mood. Besides, working out as the sun is setting is very relaxing," just imagining the floor-to-ceiling windows of the gym showing the city view being bathed by the golden hour was enough to hype her even more.

_"Very well. Just a quick reminder that your father requests you work-out for two hours, at least."_

Finishing filling the bottle, she closed the lid tightly and rolled her eyes, she seemed to be doing that a lot today, "I know Uncle JARVIS," she grabbed her towel from the kitchen's counter and began making her way towards the gym, "Can you please tell me when Pepper arrives home? Oh, and if my mom calls? Oh and can you also, please, turn on my work-out playlist on the gym's speakers?" she was grinning every time she added a request, but she didn't mean to ask for so many things.

 _"You asked so nicely Miss, how can I say no?"_  JARVIS replied, amused but with an amicable tone.

"Thanks, Uncle JARVIS, you're the best."

_"I do try to be."_

* * *

**8:22 PM**

Primrose took three big gulps of her water bottle as sweat drops slide down her temple and forehead. She had just finished a thirty-minute, nonstop treadmill sprinting workout and although she was only slightly out of breath, she felt that if JARVIS hadn't just warned that Pepper was home she wouldn't have stopped.

It was already dark outside, but the artificial lights kept the big city lighten up. As she continued sipping from her water, Primrose stood near one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and stared outside, trying to calm down her fast pacing heart from the continuous spriting it just endured. She knew that it was thanks to her Extremis that her legs didn't even feel wobbly, but she still needed to hide it and if Pepper had just witnessed her running that fast, her cover would've been blown.

She heard the doors of the gym being open, the music on the speakers ceased since JARVIS's announcement.

"Prim? Oh, there you are, sweetie!" Pepper Potts sighed with relief, and a smile quick crossed her lips when her goddaughter turned around and smiled back, taking the water bottle out of her lips, "Why are you at the gym?" she asked, approaching her.

Primrose shrugged casually and placed her bottle on the cup holder on the treadmill, grabbing her towel in the process to start wiping her forehead, "I felt like it–oh no, don't hug me I'm all sweaty and stinky!" the brunette quickly warned as Pepper made a move to hug her.

Pepper chuckled and hugged her anyway, "Sweetie, you could be covered in mud and I'd still hug you."

Primrose smiled softly at the strawberry-haired woman as she quickly hugged her back, "Aw, Pepper now seriously, let me go I need to go take a long shower. I stink."

Pepper grabbed her hand and the two walked out of the gym, leaving JARVIS to turn off the lights behind them, "How's your mom?"

"She's pretty good, and so is my brother."

"I talked with her on the phone yesterday, she told me you're doing well in school," Pepper continued with a well-disposed tone. She was a proud godmother after all, and she loved gloating about Primrose to her co-workers.

Primrose nodded, letting go of her hand when they reached her bedroom, "Well, I'm struggling a little bit in Algebra but it's fine, the teacher is cool and she doesn't give up on her students," she commented while entering the room, "Oh, Pepper, do you know anything about Sudan?" trying to sound casual as she entered her bathroom attached to her bedroom, she waited for Pepper to reply as she closed the door behind her.

Pepper was silent for a while, Primrose didn't like that as she began undressing her gym clothes.

"Oh, no. Well, your dad told me he'd call me as soon as they were finished but it's still too early to know."

Feeling slightly anxious, Primrose tried her best not to sound nervous when she spoke, "It took them seven hours to travel to Sudan because they used a Quinjet, they went to help Ms. Romanoff eleven hours ago, that leaves them with four hours to fix everything. You don't think that's enough time?" she asked, her tone a little clipped as she turned on the hot water from her shower but immediately put it on cold.

Pepper was now on the other side of the door, but she didn't come in, "Sweetie, I know. I'm worried too but I trust them enough to know that they will come back. That  _he_  is going to return to us. And after they get that scepter, it's all over. We can finally rest."

Primrose sighed and let her godmother's words be absorbed. Maybe Pepper was right, maybe she was just being childish and overthinking everything as usual. She was just so worried about them, she knew they had a God with them but everyone has their weaknesses, "Okay Pepper thanks for listening. I'm gonna shower now, okay?" she said in a lighter tone, entering her shower.

"You're welcome sweetie, I'm always here if you want to talk. I'm going to go order some food, I'm too tired to cook. Anything you want?"

"A large pepperoni pizza, with lots of garlic bread and a peach iced tea, please," Primrose chuckled when she heard Pepper groan on the other side of the door, "What? You asked me!"

"I'm going to order a medium instead of a large, Primrose," Pepper warned with an exasperated tone before Primrose heard her heels walking away.

"What?! No!" Primrose laughed, not caring but wanting to be dramatic either way.

If she was being honest, she didn't feel like eating at all. But Primrose had to at least keep Pepper at ease and pretend everything was fine instead of telling her about her current nightmares and the paranoid training she secretly began with Hanae with her Extremis. Primrose feared her next session with Dr. Holland, she is so comfortable to speak to and Primrose could be very open with her sometimes – but not this time, she had to prove everyone that she was mature enough to not be a burden anymore.

* * *

**9:11 PM**

After showering and putting on her Hufflepuff themed pajamas, Primrose dried her hair that was starting to get long again and put it up in a bun after brushing it. She put on her white slippers, grabbed her phone from her nightstand and walked to the kitchen where Pepper was waiting for her, she was surprised to see that her pizza was already there, did she take a long time showering?

As she sat down on the island's stool, near where the food was, she watched as Pepper served herself a glass of wine before grabbing her pizza and opening – and as she took in the scent, Primrose realized that she was now hungry.

"Damn, that's a good smell," she sighed before grabbing a slice from the pie.

"Since when you say 'damn'?" Pepper quickly scolded as she sat down next to her.

Primrose quickly took a huge bite and then pointed at her mouth with widened eyes, wordlessly telling Pepper she couldn't respond with her mouth full of food. Pepper only raised her eyebrow and let her goddaughter get away with it this time.

"JARVIS, can you please turn on the television?" Pepper asked as she still gave Primrose a mildly stern look.

Primrose smiled innocently as she gulped down and looked at the television they had in the kitchen between the cabinets, "Oh, Modern Family is on!" she cheered, being a fan of the show.

Pepper smiled at her excitement and the two began eating their dinner, Pepper having ordered Thai food for herself. They even gave each other some of their food and when Primrose checked her phone when the episode of in the middle, she saw that she had some notifications.

The first one was from Harley, sent twenty minutes ago by Whatsapp, and it had a photo of a McDonald's bag on the table of his living room with Marian (now aged almost nine years old) mid-biting a cheeseburger. The caption said:  **'hope you're having a good meal because we out here eating like royalty'.**

Primrose smirked and quickly took a photo of her almost eaten pizza with half-bitten garlic bread, then she wrote:  **'too late bud, besides, Burguer King or go home. ps: tell Marian she looks cute.'**

Pepper smiled at how giddy Primrose looked when she sent the photo, she decided not to say anything about it though, she didn't want to spook her out since Primrose was at that age when girls and boys finally start noticing each other.

The other notifications were from her Instagram, Valeria had posted three Instastories of her at her dancing lessons, Hanae had taken photos of the sunset from her rooftop, Harley made Instatories of him scaring his sister and then running away from her and she saw how many new likes she had gotten from her new Iron Man art. She put her phone down and continued watching television and eating her pizza while she waiting for Harley to reply.

Pepper cleaned after herself after finishing her meal and finished the glass of wine she had been drinking during it. Primrose didn't understand why people loved alcohol so much, it had almost ruined her dad's life and people seemed to get stupid when they drink too much – but she couldn't complain, it was thanks to alcohol that she was here.

"Okay, so I'm gonna go wrap up some work that I couldn't finish today before going to bed. Do you need anything from me?" Pepper said as she wiped her hands after she washed her dishes.

Closing her pizza box and deciding to leave the rest of it for tomorrow, Primrose shook her head with a smile and grabbed the can of her peach iced tea, "Nope. I think I'm just gonna stay here and watch more television."

"Have you done your homework?" Pepper asked, and she felt so motherly when the question slipped out of her lips. She imagined herself asking her daughter or son that, and for a moment she felt strange.

"I did all of it yesterday," Primrose replied as she grabbed her phone and leaped out of the stool towards the sitting area nearby to get more comfortable, "I always do my homework on Friday to have the weekend free, remember?"

Pepper raised her arms in mock surrender, "All right, I hear you. I was just making sure, I'm just playing the godmother role."

"I get it, someone has to do it," Primrose quipped.

Pepper smiled affectionately at her, "You remind me of your dad each day it passes," she confessed.

Primrose gasped, "Happy said the same thing to me earlier today!"

Laughing, Pepper nodded, "It's true! You two are so alike and the more you grow older the more it gets noticeable."

Shuddering comically, and not liking being compared to a man with a lot of facial hair, Primrose jokingly shooed her away, "Don't you have grown-up work to do, adult?"

"Yes I do, moody teenager," Pepper smiled and turned around, "Don't you dare to go to sleep without saying goodnight," she added quickly with a mildly serious tone.

At the same time, Primrose's phone alerted her of a notification, "Yeah, sure," she said distractedly as she unlocked her phone again.

Pepper shook her head as she walked, feeling that the sweet little girl was slowly vanishing.

Primrose chuckled lightly at Harley's response, it was a photo of him with an arched brow with the caption:  **'excuse me, Burger King? You spoiled princess. And btw, rude of you to not share that pizza, and i'm not telling Marian she looks cute or else my reputation as her annoying big brother would be shattered.'**

She continued talking with him for another half-an-hour before starting to feel sleepy. The side effects of waking up every day of a weekday at six in the morning were that her body and mind started to get tired around ten and eleven in the evening. After texting him that she was going to sleep, Primrose went to give her godmother a goodnight kiss as well and went straight to her bedroom, where she flopped on the bed, groaned, placed her phone on the nightstand and finally placed herself in a comfortable position.

"Uncle JARVIS, can you turn off the lights?" she asked the A.I after starting at the ceiling for a while, deep in her thoughts.

_"Certainly, Miss."_

The lights of her bedroom dimmed down until they were completely turned off, and the artificial lights from the city outside engulfed her bedroom, but Primrose liked it, she was used to how New York City sounded at night, it was like her white sound.

"Can you turn on the galaxy lights?"

 _"Of course,"_  JARVIS quickly obeyed and Primrose gasped slightly when her ceiling began looking like a realistic galaxy,  _"Are you feeling well Miss?"_  he inquired, his tone worriedly. JARVIS knew that his young mistress hasn't requested for the galaxy night light in a while, so something must've been wrong.

"I'm just worried about my dad. About the Avengers," she said with a longingly tone, trying to hold back her emotions, "Can you check on my dad? You can access his helmet, right?"

_"I could, but his helmet is currently offline."_

"Oh," Primrose deadpanned, "That's good, right? That means that he doesn't need to be Iron Man anymore and that maybe they're on their way back. Right?" she insisted, trying to convince herself more than actually asking for JARVIS's opinion on the matter.

"Of course," JARVIS agreed at once, trying not to make his young mistress more anxious than she already was.

"But that meant that he would've called Pepper, and she would've told me right away. Because she told me, and Happy promised as well" she continued with a meek tone, covering her face with her hands, "No, wait," uncovering her face, she turned her body to look at the alarm clock on her nightstand, it read '11:33PM', "Maybe they're not telling me anything because they think I'm asleep, yeah, maybe" she muttered, turning to face the ceiling again, "Whatever, if I keep thinking about this I won't be able to sleep."

 _"You do look tired, Miss. Perhaps you should sleep, you will certainly receive good news when you wake up,"_  JARVIS promised solemnly. He had full trust that his master would return home safe and sound, besides he calculated the percentage of it and the odds were in the Avengers' favor to win.

"I hope so, goodnight Uncle JARVIS."

"Goodnight, Primrose," the A.I bid her with a gentle tone in his usual robotic manner. It still made him feel so happy whenever she addressed him, a natural-language user interface computer system more known as artificial intelligence and named after Edwin Jarvis, his master's late butler that he so much cared for, as her Uncle. Almost fourteen years ago, when he learned that his Mr. Stark was a father, JARVIS took himself as his loyal A.I and butler to advice his master and protect the baby, he didn't know much about them, so JARVIS researched a lot about infancy and babies and updated his system to be alert about Primrose Evans-Stark whereabouts. Soon enough, Mr. Stark wasn't the one slightly protective over the little one, JARVIS had grown extremely fond of the girl – and he had Tony Stark to thank for being genius enough to allow JARVIS to have emotions.

He watched over her until she fell asleep, he knew that she was crying and he wished he could comfort her better without sounding awkward. So when JARVIS was sure she was sleeping, he sent a text message to a certain someone in hopes of cheering her up in the morning.

* * *

**April 26th**

**10:33 AM  
Sunday**

Primrose woke up to a sweet scent in the air. The first thing she noticed when she abruptly rose up to a sitting positing on her bed was that her door was open – she fell asleep with her door closed, like always. Feeling hopeful, she shoved her comforter out of her body and leaped out her bed, her feet landing on her slippers, and after putting on her robe dangling behind her door and placing her phone on its pocket, she paced quickly towards the kitchen, where the sweet scent was coming from.

As she walked around the corner that would show the spacious kitchen, a grin already settled in her lips when she heard a familiar humming and a sizzling sound – and then there he was, with his back turned on her as he used the waffle maker.

"Dad!" she squealed happily, startling him as she saw his shoulders slightly jump.

"Whoa! Squirt, you scared the blue out of my jeans!" Tony half laughed and huffed as he turned around the receive the hug Primrose was already glomping him for.

"You're home! When did you get here?" she asked quickly as he held her tightly, he smelled like he just showered.

"Five hours ago, and before you ask – I napped on the trip back here and then sleep four more hours, so yes, I am very well-rested. And everyone else is still asleep, so pipe it young lady and eat these waffles," he playfully pinched her cheek and Primrose stopped hugging him to allow her dad to continue cooking because after all, she didn't want burnt waffles.

She sat down by the island, right in front of the counter were a plate with a knife and form, plus and to her surprise, peanut butter and chocolate sauce bottle, "Dad?"

"Hm?" Tony hummed as he took the freshly made waffles and placed them on a bigger plate, right on top of the pile. He then pulled the cord of the machine from the outlet and brought the plate to the counter where she was sitting, settling it in front of her with a knowing smile.

"Why did you make waffles and my favorite chocolate sauce?" she questioned, looking at him.

Tony smiled as he served her, placing two waffles on her plate and putting the sauce bottle near her, "JARVIS texted me last night while I was napping. He told me that you were worried and he advised me to cook one of your favorite breakfasts, you know, to cheer you up."

Primrose was stunned, she couldn't verbally express the warm feeling that escalated quickly within her heart. This, however, wasn't the Extremis, it was love, "JARVIS?" she called out as Tony served himself.

_"Yes, Miss?"_

"Is that true?"

 _"Yes, it is. I thought that you'd feel better. Do you?"_ the A.I inquired with a hopeful tone.

Tearing up, Primrose quickly cleaned her tears away with the sleeve of her pajama, Tony watched her with an affectionate smile. Seeing his daughter's appreciation for JARVIS still made him happy, because the A.I was designed to have a free speech and free emotions, JARVIS knew how to handle stressful situations because he was relatively calculating and calm – but he was also part of the family and Primrose's robot Uncle.

"Thank you Uncle JARVIS, I love you," Primrose stated while sniffing, trying not to cry over her waffles, "I wish I could hug you."

 _"That would be lovely, Miss. I wish your father was as affectionate as you are,"_ JARVIS quipped, making her giggle and Tony splutter as he chewed on his waffle.

"Excuse me? I am very affectionate with you," the genius grumpily stated.

"Dad, don't talk with your mouth full," Primrose scolded, trying to look disgusted.

 _"Honestly Sir, I thought you'd be a better example to your daughter,"_  JARVIS joined in, his tone playful.

Primrose chuckled even more, but when Tony gave her a look with squinted eyes she decided to quickly change the subject, "So, how was the mission?"

Tony thought for a moment before replying, "It went well, Natasha was fine. But Bruce had to change into Hulk after we were found by some of the soldiers. We also received information about a HYDRA Research Base in Sokovia, we believe that Lokis scepter is in there."

At that, Primrose sighed, "You're leaving again? You guys have been destroying HYDRA bases everywhere and every time you're gone it makes me anxious" she whined, not caring how childish she sounded.

Tony sighed, understand her complaint, "I know honey, but I promise you that we all have a good feeling about this one in Sokovia."

Primrose tried not to huff, so she used her fork to guide a piece of her waffle into her mouth, and began chewing with a frown on her face.

Tony hated when she had that expression, he wanted her to always have a smile or at least playful annoyance – he hated making her feel like this, "We're planning the mission tomorrow and leaving in the next day, so I have a free day today. What do you wanna do?"

Primrose shrugged, "Stay in and be lazy?" he nodded, appreciating her suggestion after a rough battle in Sudan, "Also, are they still asleep? I wanted to say hi," she added quickly, a little shyer too.

"Well, Bruce and Natasha are still sleeping. But I think Barton is training in the fitness room, I don't know where Thor is."

 _"Mr. Odinson is currently in the communal kitchen Sir, I'm guiding him in how to prepare strawberry pop-tarts,"_  JARVIS interjected.

Tony and Primrose instantly looked at each other with widened eyes and began running towards the elevator. When inside, Primrose started laughing.

"It's not funny! He almost set the whole tower on fire last time–JARVIS! What were you thinking?!" Tony barked, looking anxious as the elevator lift the two to the floors above them, where it was a home for the rest of the team.

 _"Sir, he is doing quite well this time."_  JARVIS insisted.

He was right, when they found Thor, the God was innocently enjoying his plate full of pop-tarts while sitting on the large, round sofa that could accommodate at least ten people. He was mid-chewing when he noticed Tony and Primrose, and an immediate grin was sent to the thirteen-year-old.

"Young Stark! Good to see you!" he rose to his feet and left the plate on the couch as he walked up to them, "Give me a hug, child!"

Prepared for the bear hug, Primrose grinned widely and spread her arms to allow Thor's to wrap around her torso and pulled her up to his height, making her squeal and laugh at the same time as he spun one time. She wrapped her arms around his neck for safety and felt giddy when she heard his thunderous laughter as well.

"I'm not a child anymore, Thor!" Primrose told him when he stopped spinning, and he gave her a confused look, "I'm thirteen now, remember? I'm a teen."

"Oh please," Tony cut in, arching his brow as he approached the two, "You're still a kid."

Primrose stuck her tongue at him, amusing Thor.

"Child or not, it is always great to see you," the blonde said as he put her down, "But I can see how much you have grown since I last laid my eyes on you, and that was only two weeks ago!" grinning, he ruffled her unbrushed hair and she only had time to grab his arm and try to push it away, giggling when Thor used his strength to lift her off the floor as she held on.

"Okay, okay, that's enough. It's too early for this, and as much as I love hearing my daughter's laughter – Thor, didn't I tell you that you were banned from the kitchen?" Tony crossed his arms and glared at the God, expectant of a good answer.

Thor shrugged casually as he swung his arm around, playing with Primrose as she dangled herself on it, "You cannot ban a God from the kitchen."

"You almost–"

"Yes, I know this Stark. I almost burned the entire building down. But everything worked out well, didn't it?" smirking smugly his way, he finally allowed Primrose to touch the floor and she let go, out of breath from laughing so much.

She had missed Thor. When he returned in January from England, Primrose was present when Thor explained what happened to him to Tony. Apparently, an alien race called the Dark Elves wanted to perish the universe into darkness, so Thor stopped them with the help of his friends. But he also gave him the news about Loki's death – and that his brother died saving his life. Primrose was saddened by that, but at least Loki was able to redeem himself before passing away. It was clear that Thor was hurt by his death, but her dad tried his best not to rudely say 'good riddance' because if he did, Primrose would've kicked him in his shins.

"Worked out well? Well, yeah. After I paid for the repairs."

"Dad, you're a billionaire. It's not like you lost much money," Primrose remarked, giving him an eye roll.

Tony gasped, "There it is, again! You're rolling your eyes and talking back at me! Oh, God! I'm not prepared for this teenage thing that is coming!" he dramatically took a step back and pointed his finger at her.

"You better get used to it," a new voice said, and everyone turned their heads to see Clint walking inside, with a towel covering the back of his neck and a bottle of water almost empty in hand, "Teenagers can be tough, but your daughter? Now you'll see what it's like to deal with you."

"I resent that!" Both Primrose and Tony complained at the same time, the difference was that Primrose was smiling.

"Hello Barton, how was your training?" Thor greeted him with a smile as well, he was already making his way back to the sofa, grabbing his plate of pop-tarts before sitting down.

He nodded at the blonde, "Good. It was good," then, his attention was on Primrose, "Hey there kid," he greeted as he ruffled her hair while passing by her and Tony, towards the fridge.

She chuckled, "Hi, Mr. Barton," Primrose greeted him back. She liked him, whenever she watched him train he'd always give her some advice about how to shoot a good arrow, even though she wasn't interested, she'd let him talk. Clint had this aura around him that made her feel comfortable, he knew how to talk with her without making Primrose feel like she was being patronized and she knew that if he was a father, he'd be a patient one that likes to teach.

"Great, how come he can do that but if I touch your hair you complain about it?" Tony protested as Clint grinned while grabbing a loaf of bread and butter from the fridge.

Primrose rolled her eyes and walked up to Thor, sitting next to him as the God gave her a wide grin and brought his plate closer, offering her a pop-tart, she smiled and silently took one, nibbling on it and resting back on the sofa.

She was relieved that the team was back and that the days where her dad only had Bruce's company around here were over. At least for now, she almost couldn't believe that she was sharing a pop-tart with a Norse God, who would've believed her? Oh, right.

Taking her phone from her robe's pocket, she unlocked it and opened the Instagram app, she clicked to make a new Instastory and pointed the camera at herself, with Thor in the view as well, "Her, Thor, smile!" she said before taking a bite of her pop-tart while Thor, always ready for a photo, took a bite of his with a wide-grin and eyes on the camera, she took the photo and chuckled, chewing on the sweet treat, "Thanks!"

"Always a pleasure to show my face on your Midgardian technology," the blonde said, engulfing his breakfast.

Primrose quickly finished her Instastorie and placed her phone down, grinning at him, "I'll hold you down on that one."

Clint, who watched the exchange while he made himself a sandwich, smiled. Primrose has been growing more comfortable around the team and everyone seemed to be very fond of her, especially Natasha. Clint had heard her comment on Primrose's karate skills when the two trained together last month and how strong the girl had more strength in her than she appeared to be. Clint himself couldn't help to be proud. Cooper was now ten years old, Lila was seven and he still couldn't believe Laura was almost giving birth to baby number three. He knew that Primrose's mother, who he only met once briefly three years ago, was also pregnant, and Clint knew Primrose was going to be a good sister.

"I'm gonna get dressed, see you guys later!" Primrose announced after eating her pop-tart. Her eyes on her phone's screen as she walked out, and he saw Tony shake his head at his daughter.

"I think it was a mistake giving her a phone. She spends too much time on it," Tony commented when she was gone.

* * *

**April 29th  
Wednesday**

**4:55 PM**

Primrose placed her schoolbag on top of her bed and immediately changed from her school's uniform to a pair of denim white shorts and a yellow tee, then she just put her slippers on and sighed, stretching her limbs after a full day of school and art club meeting. Usually, she'd take a nap and then do her homework but today she was going to wait for the team to return.

Maria promised to inform her the moment the mission was over and they would be coming back, so Primrose made her way to the upper floors to the landing platform. She found Maria talking with Dr. Cho, and a delightful but surprised smile crossed Primrose's lips.

"Dr. Cho! It's nice to see you again," she greeted them, making herself present.

"Primrose," the South-Korean geneticist smiled softly at the brunette, "I thought I told you you could call me Helen."

"I can't, sorry I think it'd be too disrespectful, doctor," Primrose state with a shy look on her face.

Maria stepped closer to them, "Primrose, Dr. Cho was called to the tower by your dad," she began, wasting no time with her explanation, "I was about to call you. They're on their way and the mission was successful, they found Loki's scepter."

"Well, that's good" Primrose sighed, relieved.

Maria and Helen changed a look before the geneticist excused herself, "I'll talk with you later," and when she walked away, Primrose gave Maria a confused look.

"Barton was injured. She was invited to set up her equipment in Dr. Banner's lab," Maria informed the now shocked thirteen-year-old, "He's stable but he'll need Dr. Cho's immediate assistance once he returns."

"If you say so," Primrose mumbled, deeply concerned about the archer, "Is there anything else?"

Maria nodded and showed the screen of the tablet she was holding, "The reason he was injured is because of these twins. They're enhanced."

"Enhanced?" Primrose repeated, seeing a girl and a boy that were probably eighteen years old or in their early twenties. The girl was a dark brunette with long hair but what amazed her the most was that the guy, that resembled the girl, had silver hair, "Are they brother and sister?" they both had the same intense look in their eyes.

"Twins. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, Maria confirmed, slightly impressed with the girl's keen eyes. "They're from the base in Sokovia, apparently Strucker experienced on them with Loki's scepter. Wanda has neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, and mental manipulation. Pietro's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis," Maria looked at the confused girl.

"I understand half of those words," she mumbled.

Maria tried to hold her smirk, and explained briefly, "He's really fast and she's weird."

"Ah, got it," Primrose nodded, but she couldn't help but look at the twins with a sad look, "So were they kidnapped by HYDRA and experimented on?" she could relate to them. When Killian kidnapped her and injected her with Extremis to start testing her blood on animals, Primrose felt hopeless and used, so maybe these twins could get help as she did.

But Maria, sensing that Primrose was about to be her usual amiable self, decided to quickly warn her, "Don't feel sad for them, they volunteered for HYDRA and willingly fought against the Avengers."

Primrose now looked surprised, "But why?" there was already too much going on, she didn't want any more bad people around her dad or the team's lives after what happened with Loki.

Maria's jaw tensed, "I'm still figuring that out, but all I can tell you is that they managed to escape but at least we got Dr. List and Strucker."

Before Primrose could make any more questions, she saw Maria attentively listening to her earpiece and nodded, "Got it, will be there in three minutes," she told the voice on the other side before looking at Primrose, "They'll be here soon," and with a nod, the two started walking together towards the landing pad – and Primrose just wanted to give her dad a hug.

* * *

When the Quinjet landed, Primrose watched as Dr. Cho and her team immediately carried Clint on a stretcher towards Bruce's lab, where her equipment was ready to fix his gash. She smiled at him when he passed by and he managed to smile back, despite being in terrible pain. Natasha was following on their tail, briefly nodding at Primrose as a quick greet.

She walked to the Quinjet with Maria and saw Thor making his way out, holding the scepter inside a container. The God grinned and ruffled her hair as he passed by, and she giggled, pushing his arm away. Inside, she saw her dad sitting by the cockpit, turning the chair around to look at them.

"Lab's all set up, boss," Maria professionally informed him as Primrose made her way towards him.

Tony instantly rose up to his feet and accepted his daughter's incoming hug gladly before replying, "Well actually, he's the boss," he said, referring to Steve, who Primrose now noticed, "I just pay for everything and design everything and make everyone look cooler."

Primrose rolled her eyes.

"What's the word on Strucker?" Steve asked Maria.

"NATO's got him," she replied.

"The two enhanced?" Steven inquired, grabbing the tablet when Maria gave it to him, and then the two just walked off from the Quinjet and continued their conversation.

"Hello to you too, Mr. Rogers," Primrose mumbled as she began feeling her dad's grip on her tighten. She looked up at him and saw him looking at her with a haunted expression. Widening her eyes, she quickly unwrapped her hands from his torso and cupped his cheeks, "Daddy? Are you all right?"

Tony still remembers that vision.

_The sight of the shivering Hulk with three spikes impaling him out his back, Natasha's lifeless eyes as she stared at him, Clint's sitting with his back slumped forward, his bow broken and his expression also lifeless, Thor with bloody gashes on his face laying unmovingly with Mjolnir by his side, and Steve laying and seemingly unconscious with his shield broken by his side. Tony had kneeled by him and try to feel a pulse on his neck but Steve had grabbed him._

_"You could have saved us!" Steve had gasped before giving his last breath and falling back down._

_Then, a voice that would haunt Tony was heard. It was his little girl, wailing behind a rock nearby, and when he reached her he sees Primrose bleeding from her forehead, with her face filled with cuts and gashes as well. She looked at him, tearfully, and Tony couldn't help but cuddle her on his arms._

_"Daddy, why didn't you save me? You told me you wouldn't let anything happen to me you..." then, she inhaled sharply and never exhaled again. And Tony only remembers screaming after seeing Primrose's soulful eyes lose all color._

_Then everything disappeared, and he grabbed the scepter with a new obsession._

"Dad?"

Gasping, he looked down at the real Primrose. The one that was safe, and quickly put a smile on his face, resting his palm on her head and patting her gently.

"I'm fine, honey, just a little tired."

Primrose didn't believe him, from what she learned ever since he tried to hide his poisoning condition was that he liked keeping secrets that would worry her just to himself – or at least just from her. She hated it. Primrose was now old enough to know things, Maria didn't hold back when she gave her the information back then, so why did her father had to coddle her all the time? She's been wanting to bring this subject up for a while, but Primrose felt that if she did her father would argue and she didn't want to stress him more than he already was with all this scepter hunting. So she remained silent, as always, and decided that she would bring this up soon, "Okay, dad. Can we go check on Mr. Barton?"

Tony held his daughter's hand as both began walking out of the Quinjet, "Uh yeah, sure. Oh, by the way, we're having a party to celebrate on Saturday, so ask your mom if you can come because I want you there, okay?"

"A party?" she scrunched her nose, but then her expression lit up, "Can I invite Hanae?"

"Sure, the more the merrier," Tony said distractedly.

She was practically skipping now, "Thanks, dad!"

When they arrived at Bruce's lab, where Dr. Cho's equipment was set up, Primrose couldn't help but awe at the machine he was laying on. Tony made sure she didn't get to close as the machine based on the advanced technology Dr. Cho had developed in Seoul, it was called the Cradle and Primrose watched as it rebuilt Clint damaged skin, saving his life in mere minutes.

"This is extraordinary," Primrose commented with an astonishing tone.

Dr. Cho smiled at her, gratefully, "Thank you, Primrose."

Natasha, who had never left Clint's side, had a worried and tense expression on her face ever since she arrived. Primrose knew she felt guilty and the redhead's loyalty for Clint was clear – the two had such a close bond, Primrose often wondered if they were more than friends sometimes. But she also knew it was none of her business, and she didn't want to know how complicated the world of adults was. Besides, she was taught to respect people's privacy so she would remain like that.

Outside, she saw her dad and Bruce talking with each other while they looked inside the lab, who had floor-to-ceiling windows and was visible to everyone passing by. She didn't know what they were saying but she did notice Natasha glancing at Bruce with an odd look – but once again, she shook it away and decided to pay attention at the lasers re-creating a fake skin on Clint's torso, "Cool" she mumbled at the scene, making Clint arch a brow at her with amusement on his face.

She saw her dad scanning the scepter while Bruce made his way inside his lab.

"Are you sure he's gonna be okay?" Natasha asked, looking at the gash being fixed, "Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together," she quipped while giving Clint a playful smile.

"There's no possibility of deterioration, the nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous," Dr. Cho explained with pride in her voice as Bruce listened attentively, he also had an impressed look on his face as he stood next to Primrose, "His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacra."

Primrose understood little of that.

"She's creating tissue," Bruce explained with an awestruck smile as if he had read her mind.

"That's really cool," Primrose commented again.

"If you brought him to my lab, the Regeneration Cradle could do this in twenty minutes," Dr. Cho told them.

"Can you make limbs with the Cradle?" Primrose asked.

"Excellent question, it can. But the process is more complicated and it takes more than a few minutes to complete."

"Oh he's flat-lining, call it. Time?" Her dad suddenly said as he walked in with a tray filled with cups.

"Dad!" Primrose scolded him with a whiny tone as her dad pretended to check his digital wristwatch.

"No, no, no, don't worry Prim. I'm gonna live forever. I'm gonna be made of plastic," Clint joked with a weak tone, he still seemed to be in pain.

"Here's your beverage," Tony said as he handed the archer a cup with a liquid inside that Primrose could only guess was meant for his recovery.

"You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference," Dr. Cho explained.

"I don't have a girlfriend," Clint quickly told her before sipping on his drink.

"That I can't fix," Dr. Cho quipped.

"This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are gonna be left in the dust," she smugly told her dad.

"Oh" Primrose looked at her dad with a goofy grin, "You got burned, dad!"

He didn't seem fazed and merely shrugged, "That is exactly the plan. And, Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties," Dr. Cho said.

"Oh, please come to the party Dr. Cho, it'll be fun!" Primrose insisted, wanting her to be present since she has helped a lot during these past few months.

Helen hesitated for a moment, before adverting her eyes to her tablet and ask: "Will Thor be there?" she wondered.

Primrose grinned, she was in.

* * *

**May 2nd  
Saturday**

For the following three days, Primrose barely saw her dad and Bruce. The two would spend every and all day inside the main lab, studying the scepter and for a reason acting all mysterious whenever Primrose asked what they were doing. JARVIS told her she wasn't allowed inside without Tony's consent, which was fine because she was used to that rule, except that this time she knew it was different for some reason. She's always been a good observant.

Primrose gave Hanae the invitation after their Karate class and she was delighted and honored to be invited to a party to celebrate that the Avengers would be hosting. Primrose was glad she was coming because the party would only have adults.

Emma told Primrose she decided to stay home and rest after a rough week of work, being at the end of the second trimester of her pregnancy was making her anxious and very paranoid about keeping the baby safe, and Primrose was understandable about it, although she told her mom that Natasha would be a little disappointed because Pepper wouldn't be there as well. Her godmother was too busy running the company, but Primrose couldn't help to feel that there was something else. But as always, she would never understand adults, at least yet.

When Happy came to pick her up, she excitedly told him about her dress while he was driving towards the Tower. He did the best he could so sound interested because he cared about her.

One hour before the part commenced, Primrose showered and put on the dress she and her mom had bought together.

It was a soft-pink dress, it covers her shoulders entirely and flows down into a beautiful sweetheart neckline. Its a comfortable fit which gives it a relaxed, yet graceful look that Primrose was looking for. Her arms have been covered to only just below her shoulders, a choice which adds to the elegance and grace of the dress. The waist is broad, but it's a comfortable fit and a white bow has been wrapped around her waist, resting gently on her belly. Below the waist, the dress widens and has a ruffle style towards the bottom and reaches to just above her ankles and is the same length all around.

Primrose opted wearing slingbacks, gorgeous on their own, an ideal match in combination with the dress. Then, after drying her hair, she pulled it up into a bun and sighed at the few loose strands that refuse to stay back. She earlier asked her mom if she could wear makeup and Emma explained that although she was too young, Primrose could put on some light makeup just for the occasion. And Primrose did, she bought a light peach-colored lip gloss and applied it with a smile, that was all she needed. Primrose was happy with her appearance.

The music was already turned on upstairs, and she told her dad she could go to the party on her own, although he insisted on picking her up by her bedroom. The team had been already in the party deck even before the party started, just spending time together and toasting to their success away from the public eye.

 _"You look lovely, Ms. Evans-Stark,"_  JARVIS suddenly complimented as she stepped inside the elevator.

Her cheeks flushed a light pink, "Thank you. Has Hanae arrived yet?" she asked, hoping that her best friend found her way to the part deck safely.

 _"Ms. Sato is currently talking with your father at the party,"_  JARVIS informed her instantly, and with a lighter-tone.

"Thanks, Uncle JARVIS," as the elevator moved upwards, she began feeling a knot on her stomach. Why were her dad and Hanae talking with each other? Gladly, they got along well. Her dad liked how serious and mature Hanae could be but at the same time how caring she was towards his daughter.

When the doors opened, the upbeat music engulfed the area and she stepped into the party deck with her eyes already searching for her dad and her friend. As she looked around she noticed how the floor looked so different, maybe because she wasn't used to seeing so many people on this floor, and like her dad's disastrous birthday party, she didn't recognize almost every person that was either dancing or talking with each other while sitting down on the lounge area. But Primrose could only guess that they could be friends of the team or her dad or scientists, ex-SHIELD agents and Steve even invited some WWII veterans but there was someone that Primrose wanted to meet, and his name was Sam Wilson.

Steve told Primrose that Sam, now known as the Falcon, was the person who helped him and Natasha with the whole HYDRA situation last year and that he has become a great friend of his. This guy sounded great.

As she walked between the crowd, she noticed some familiar faces. Bruce waved and smile at her as he almost hit his head on a lamp, Natasha and Rhodey were sitting together and talking, Thor was sharing his battle stories with the veterans and Primrose thought how sweet it was, him having fun with them. As she approached the bar she also spotted Clint chatting with Dr. Cho and finally Steve, who was playing pool table with a black man that she could only assume was Sam. Decisively, she approached the two and when Steve noticed he instantly widened the smile he was already carrying and patted the other man on the shoulder to promptly began introductions.

"Hi, Mr. Rogers!" Primrose greeted as she neared them.

Sam quickly looked at her and grinned, "Mr. Rogers, eh?"

Steve chuckled, "Hello Primrose, you look beautiful," he complimented her quickly, making her cheeks warm again because she wasn't used to it, "Sam, this is Primrose Evans-Stark, and Primrose, this is Sam Wilson."

This was the first time Primrose ever shook hands with someone, it made her feel mature but at the same time, a little awkward.

"So, you're Stark's kid? I heard good things about you from Steve here, he also told me you're a good artist," Sam said with a grin, making Primrose give him a bashful look.

"I'm not as good as Steve yet," she said, smirking his eyes.

Steve's blue eyes lit up with amusement at her challenging tone, "Yet, uh?"

"Well, looks like you have a little competition here," Sam chuckled, hitting the blonde on his arm playfully.

Primrose laughed and looked around, finally spotting her dad and Hanae by the bar, she also saw that Thor and Maria were now with them and Rhodey seemed to be talking to the group.

Smiling from finishing her laughter, she turned at them, "Well, I'm gonna leave you two continue playing. I need to see my dad."

"Okay, talk with you later Primrose," Steve told her with a small wave.

"See ya soon, kid," Sam nodded, with a small smile.

Primrose approached the bar as fast as she could, she was curious about what they were talking about and she wanted to see Hanae as well. She grinned at the sight of her. Hanae's usual practical clothes were replaced with a beautiful jade-colored jumpsuit and a short, dark-blue cardigan that covered her arms. When the Japanese girl noticed Primrose attending, her resting face lit up instantly and a smile crossed her lips. Primrose mouthed a quick 'hi' at her when she joined then and Hanae said it back before both politely paid attention to what Rhodey was telling them.

"But, you know, the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it up to the general's palace, drop it at his feet. I'm like 'Boom, you looking for this?'"

Everyone stared at him, unfazed. And from the corner of her eyes, Primrose saw her dad try to hold a snort.

When no one reacted to the end of the story, she saw Rhodey look his smug smile to a stern one, "Boom. You looking for this?" he repeated, "Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills."

"I found it interesting," Hanae commented, offering him a nod.

"Thank you," Rhodey sighed, "What about you Prim, you liked my story?"

"I-uh," feeling a little on the spotlight, Primrose managed to smile as she said, "I just got here, but the ending sounded great!"

"That's the whole story?" Thor questioned.

"Yeah, it's a War Machine story," Rhodey answered, looking a little coy this time.

"It's very good then," the blonde stated as he glanced at Tony, who sipped on his drink and kept staring at his best friend with a smirk, "It's impressive," Thor laughed before sipping on his mead.

"Quality save," Rhodey nodded, then he looked at Tony and showed a more genuine smile, "So, no Pepper?"

"Hey, Hanae, wanna go somewhere else?" Primrose asked as her father began explaining the absence of his girlfriend. As much as she liked being around him, she wanted to have fun with her friend instead.

"Sure," Hanae said before looking shocked when Primrose suddenly grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her away from the group.

Primrose took her to the dancefloor and as much Hanae was beginning to feel embarrassed, she couldn't help but grin when Primrose started dancing to the upbeat music. And soon, Hanae joined in on the dancing and began to feel less shy about the crowd around them. After a while, the two went to the bar to have some refreshments, and Natasha gave them two glasses of apple cider – Tony almost had a heart attack thinking it was something else. The two opted to stay by the bar for a while, talking with each other, mostly in secret about Primrose's new Extremis abilities and Hanae offering her advice to tell her parents about it.

Primrose denied, "No, you know my dad will try to take it away from me," she said before sipping on her glass.

Hanae dropped it, knowing it was a sensitive subject for Primrose. And to lighten the mood, the two started taking photos together and uploading them on Instagram. It wasn't a secret that almost everyone knew about Hanae as well, they two would often tag each other in photos and it was clear they were close friends. Because of that, Hanae's parents almost forced her to delete her Instagram because of how much attention it was getting, but in the end, Hanae was able to persuade her parents into letting her keep it.

* * *

Two hours later, the party was over. Sam left only half-an-hour after when Hanae's time to go came, Tony witnessed her daughter hugging her goodbye. The rest of the team who was now getting more comfortable around the sitting area watched the two young girls with fond looks on their faces. It was clear they were close. Then, when Hanae said her goodnight and went with Happy for him to drive her home, the people that were left were only friends and teammates.

Primrose sat between her dad and Rhodey and she looked around the group, smiling warmly at their dynamic. Bruce and Natasha were having their own conversation as Maria and Clint sat down on the floor in front of the couch where Bruce was sitting, Steve and Thor sat on the same couch on their right. What Primrose loved the most about this moment was that everyone was smiling and laughing together, no tension and no bantering. And amusing enough, the topic of the current argument was about Thor's hammer, that he had placed on the coffee table at the center of the couches.

"But it's a trick," Clint stated as he twirled two chopsticks in his hands. They had all ordered some Chinese food an hour ago and Primrose was happy to report that she had been really hungry before chowing down on it.

"No, no, it's much more than that," Thor told him with a cocky tone as he passed Steve some of his aged, Asgardian mead.

"Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power," Clint mocked and Primrose couldn't help but giggle at his tone, "Whatever man, it's a trick!"

Thor laughed good-naturedly at his jab as well, "Please, be my guest," the blonde motioned at the hammer while smiling at Clint.

Everyone, except for Natasha and Bruce who were still amicably talking with each other, looked at Clint.

"Come on," her dad egged him, gesturing for the archer to go for it.

"Yeah," Clint stood up from the floor while looking at everyone with a confident expression as he walked towards the hammer.

"Oh, this is going to be beautiful," Rhodey said.

"Be careful Mr. Barton, you're still injured," Primrose warned him.

"Yeah Clint, you've had a tough week," Her dad added, "We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," everyone laughed, but Steve shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Stark, your daughter is in the room."

"I don't get it? What's wrong?" Primrose pretended to be oblivious, and she must be a good actor like Valeria says she is because everyone seemed to have bought it.

"Nevermind," Steve cleaned his throat.

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint suddenly told Thor as he stood in front of the hammer.

Thor simply nodded as he smirked at the archer as he watched him reach forward and grip on the hammer's handle. Primrose watched as Clint tried to lift it with all his strength but the object didn't even budge.

Grunting, Clint continued to try, "I still don't know how you do it," he exclaimed with a chuckle, letting go of the handle.

"Smell the silent judgment?" Her dad quipped as he gave the archer a smug smirk.

"Dad, Mr. Barton did his best!" she scolded him.

"No, no, it's okay Prim," Clint winked at her before looking at Tony, "Please, Stark, by all means," he challenged the genius as he gestured towards the hammer.

Her dad, amazingly enough, instantly rose from his seat and unbuttoned his blazer with a cocky look on his face and swaggered over to the hammer as everyone watched with amusement.

"Okay," Maria spurred on, already knowing how Tony was sometimes.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge," her dad stated as he approached it.

"Be careful, don't pop your back dad," Primrose told him with a quipping tone.

"Get after it," Clint urged on, ready to see him fail with anticipation.

"It's physics," Tony commented as he placed his hand on the handle, "Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" he glanced at Thor questionably.

"Yes, of course," Thor nodded, humoring him.

Primrose covered her mouth to giggle, she knew her dad was awesome. He was her hero and he was a kind man with a bad reputation that was left in the past, but she didn't think he could lift it. That was Thor's hammer.

"I will be reinstituting  _prima nocta_ , and I'm getting Primrose her unicorn," he stated briefly, ignoring Thor's confused look – because there were no unicorns in Asgard – before Tony put a foot on the coffee table and grunted as he tried to lift it with all his might.

The hammer didn't move.

He kept on trying though, and when Primrose thought he was about to admit defeat, he opened his mouth.

"I'll be right back," he stated before walking away. Primrose watched him leave with a confused look, but five minutes later, when he returned with an Iron Man hand and Primrose had to roll her eyes at the sight. Why couldn't he just give up and sit down?

Everyone watched that, even with the Iron Man arm, Tony still couldn't lift the hammer so he asked Rhodey for help and her godfather also walked off to return with the War Machine arm, it was unbelievable. Everyone was just starting to pity them now.

"Are you even pulling?" Rhodey asked, grunting as he tried to lift it.

"Are you on my team?" Her dad snarked at him.

"Just represent. Pull!" Rhodey retorted, and Primrose almost wanted to record everything with her phone to later show Terry his dad being silly.

"All right, let's go!" the genius encouraged before both began pulling upwards with all their strength and suit's arm power.

They eventually gave up, and with a defeated sigh, Tony said that if anyone could do it was sweet Bruce, who stopped talking with Natasha as soon as his name popped into the conversation. Primrose agreed, she knew the doctor had a golden heart and maybe it was possible he could lift it. Tony took personal offend that Primrose seemed to cheer more for Bruce than himself. It was all going well until Bruce decided to pretend to be changing into the Hulk as he tried to pull the hammer up, the joke was in bad taste and everyone just kind of stared at him with unfazed expressions, leaving an awkward silence for Bruce to feel embarrassed by.

"Wait, guys," Natasha suddenly said as Bruce sat back down, "There's someone who's been too quiet about all this," the redhead leaned to give Primrose a sly smile.

She nervously looked at all the faces that turned towards her.

"Oh yeah! Let Prim try!" Clint quickly exclaimed, "You never said a kid couldn't lift it!" he pointed one of his chopsticks towards Thor, and the God looked a little nervous, although his smug smile never dropped from watching his friends fail to lift his hammer.

"Sure, go ahead young Stark, but don't be discouraged if you can't do it," Thor told her as he gestured towards the hammer, inviting her to lift it with a friendly grin.

"Are you sure?" Primrose asked, nervous rising from her seat next to her father and stepping towards it.

"Yes, of course," Thor confirmed.

"Come on Prim, daddy wants a kingdom for his birthday," Tony told her, humoring the situation. But, at the same time, he was anxious to see the results. What would truly happen if she lifts that hammer? Would Thor take to Asgard? Would she have thunder powers? He tried to look casual about it but now he was freaking out.

"Go ahead Prim, you got it!" Natasha motivated.

"Represent us," Maria encouraged with an expectant expression and Dr. Cho clapped twice for the girl.

Primrose timidly looked at the hammer and began reaching forward, she grazed the tip of her fingers on the handle, feeling the engraved Norse symbols. She grasped the handle, taking a deep breath – that was suddenly cut short when everyone heard the sound of thunder roaring nearby. Confused, they all looked outside to see if it had begun raining, but the sky was cloudless. So they all looked at Thor for justification, but the blonde was too busy staring at Primrose's hand on Mjolnir with widened, anxious eyes. That definitely meant something, and Tony didn't like it.

Primrose gasped slowly and looked at Thor with a surprised look on her face.

She felt it.

Primrose felt electrifying energy prickly the tip on her fingers.

Everyone seemed to be on edge now, staring intently at Primrose's hand on the hammer. Natasha didn't mean for Primrose to actually be able to lift it, she just wanted the girl to have some fun. But if she lifts that hammer she honestly wouldn't be that surprised.

And Primrose, just when everyone thought she was about to lift it, backed her hand away and brought it near her chest, exhaling sharply and giving them a tight smile, "You know? I'm very happy here on Earth. I don't want a Kingdom in space, I have school on Monday," and with that, everyone collectively slumped their tensed bodies and Thor let out a relieved guffaw that he tried to hide by sipping on his drink.

She quickly took her seat again and Tony instantly brought her closer to him by wrapping his arm around her torso, she gladly leaned on him and avoiding looking up for a few moments.

Steve, sensing her discomfort, gave Thor a side-smirk and stood on his feet, ready for his turn. Primrose watched as he rolled his sleeves up and leaned down to grab on the handle with a focused expression.

"Go ahead Steve, no pressure," her dad commented with a hint of mockery on his tone.

"Come on, Cap," Clint cheered.

Steve began to try to lift it and Primrose gasped when she saw the hammer creaking and moving slightly on the table. She looked at Thor quickly and saw his amused smile fade just as fast. However, when Steve realized it wasn't moving further, he gave up as well.

 _'Mr. Rogers almost did it, didn't he?'_  Primrose thought as she saw Thor laugh.

"Nothing," he said to himself before happily sipping on his drink.

Now everyone glanced at Natasha, and Bruce smiled at her as he gestured to the hammer, "And, Window?" he prompted.

"No, no. That's not a question I need answered," the redhead told them before taking a long sip from her beer bottle.

Primrose gave her an odd look, she almost asked her why but at the same time she knew better than to ask about Natasha's past.

"All deference to the 'Man Who Wouldn't be King', but it's rigged," her dad stated as everyone stood up and started drinking from their beer bottles as well.

"You bet your ass," Clint add, before catching himself and giving Primrose an apologetic look, "Sorry."

He smiled, knowing that they were all slightly drunk, "It's okay, Mr. Barton."

"Steve," Maria suddenly called as she pointed her bottle at Clint, "He said a bad language word, and in front of a kid too."

Steve immediately had this defeating expression on his face before looking at Tony, the guilty one for this, "Did you tell everyone about that?"

"–The handle's imprinted, right?" Tony asked Thor, purposedly ignoring Steve as Rhodey laughed next to him.

Primrose stood up as well, standing next to her dad give Steve a feigned dreamy look, "Mr. Rogers, I commend you for stopping mean baddies from saying terrible words."

"–Like a security code? 'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints' is, because I think, the literal translation." Tony continued, trying to deduce the meaning of why couldn't anyone lift the hammer other than the God.

"Yes, it's a very interesting theory," Thor said as he rose from the couch, "I have a simpler one," he continued as he easily lifted Mjolnir, throwing it in the air and catching it again effortlessly, "You're all not worthy."

Instantly, everyone groaned and some booed at him for his statement, even Primrose rolled her eyes. Everyone believed that there was a secret behind his hammer, that there was no way it was truly magical because everything had an explanation – but for him to say that, Primrose had to give him an expression of disbelief.

But as usual, they all just let it go and began laughing good-naturedly. It was actually getting late and Primrose was about to ask her dad if she could sleep here instead of going home when the happiness was cut short as a high pitch ringing filled the room, it was like someone was scratching a blackboard with really long nails and Primrose hated that sound, it made her skin crawl.

She saw her dad quickly check his holographic enabler to see what was wrong, but at the same time, a haunting voice was heard coming from the room's entrance.

 _"W..ooo...rr..thy..."_  a distorted and creepy voice suddenly echoed all around, and Primrose was quickly by her dad's side.

They all turned around to where the voice came from and Primrose couldn't help to hold her breath at the sight of a mangled robot, that looked like one of her dad's suits but damaged, standing with its back turned on them.

 _"No,"_  it said, finally turning around and confirming to be one of the suits,  _"How could you be worthy?"_  its male robotic voice sounded so raw that Primrose had this eerie feeling about him, _"You're all killers,"_  the robot stated as he gestured to the group.

"Dad?" Primrose whispered anxiously.

"Stark," Steve stated as he kept staring at the mangled creation with a tense expression.

"JARVIS?" Tony called out, and Primrose immediately had a bad feeling as soon as the faithful butler didn't answer.

 _"I'm sorry, I was asleep,"_  it slurred,  _"Or, I was a-a dream..."_  Primrose noticed that whatever it was, it sounded confused with itself.

"Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit," Tony calmly ordered, but once again, there was no answer or signs that the A.I had obeyed.

 _"–There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in... in..."_  the damaged suit looked at itself,  _"...strings,"_  it said as it gestured to the loose wiring and cords hanging out of its body, _"I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."_

At that statement, Tony protectively placed himself in front of Primrose. This was officially a dangerous situation when this thing had just admitted murder.

"You killed someone?" Steve pressed, now understand which side this robot was. He quickly glanced at Primrose to see her being sheltered by Tony before staring at the robot again.

 _"Wouldn't have been my first call,"_  it said, almost with a mocking tone. Primrose frowned at that, why was it being like this? Why was it so dramatic and ironic at the same time?  _"But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."_

That was no excuse, Primrose gripped the shirt of her dad in anger.

"Who sent you?" Thor questioned, trying to verify where did it come from.

A sound like a tape behind rewind was heard from it,  _"I see a suit of armor around the world."_

Primrose gasped, that was her dad's voice.

"Ultron," Bruce suddenly said as he looked at Tony.

Primrose was confused to who Ultron was but she quickly thought about all those three days that her dad and Dr. Banner spent inside the lab, "studying" the scepter. This is what they were truly working on, this Ultron.

 _"In the flesh, or no, not yet Not this chrysalis,"_  Ultron stated, looking down at himself,  _"But I'm ready,"_  as he spoke, Primrose noticed Thor gripping on his hammer, ready for a fight, and she gulped dryly because she didn't know if this was a good time to show her abilities. Heck, Primrose thought that maybe she was too nervous to even do it,  _"I'm on a mission."_

"What mission?" Natasha asked.

_"Peace in our time."_

Then suddenly many other suits that belonged to the Iron Legion burst through the walls behind Ultron and flew around the group, circling them to attack.

"HELEN!" Tony yelled before Primrose was pushed towards her by her dad, and quickly enough, Dr. Cho grabbed hold of Primrose's arms and took her away from the fighting area, sheltering behind the piano nearby. Primrose barely had time to scream when it happened, all she could hear was the Iron Suits shooting towards her friends and family with the intention to kill, and being controlled by Ultron. Dr. Cho pulled Primrose closer to herself, keeping them hidden as the two watched the fight unfold around them with widened eyes.

There were sounds of them calling each other's names, glasses shattering, loud thumps and even guns being shot and Primrose flinched at all of them. Then suddenly, a torso of one of the controlled suits found their hiding spot. As it rose its arm, ready to shoot a beam, Helen quickly pulled Primrose behind her but the shot never came, the broken torso placed his arm down before Steve quickly grabbed it and tossed it into the air, scared that it was about to shoot Primrose and Helen.

"THOR!" Steve warned, and instantly Thor smashed its helmet with his hammer after catching it easily.

"Oh my God" Helen shakingly whispered and Primrose quickly hugged her to comfort her, although she needed that hug as well because they were almost blown away. Primrose just didn't understand why it didn't take the shot, it was intending on doing it.

The two hugged as the fight ceased to an end, she rose from her hiding spot, ignoring Helen's protests, and was able to see Steve sever the last robot flying past by with his shield, causing it to crash to the floor, right in front of the mangled Ultron.

When everyone became quiet, Primrose quickly ran to her father who was standing up and sitting on the stairs, his face all bruised but to her comfort he was fine. He quickly accepted her hug when he saw her approaching and Tony almost cried right there when she was perfectly fine.

 _"Well that was dramatic,"_  Ultron suddenly commented, his voice sounded impressed,  _"I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to evolve?"_  Ultron bent down and grabbed the helmet of the fallen Iron Legion suit that Steve brought down,  _"With these? These puppets,"_  he growled, squeezing the helmet of it and destroying it before tossing it aside like it was trash, _"There's only one path to peace. The Avengers' extinction."_  Ultron stated with a definite tone as he leered at everyone.

Primrose gasped when Ultron stared at her, tilting the mangled suit's helmet. She looked away and hid her face on her dad's shoulder, scared of what she just heard and petrified of what was about to come soon.

Thor suddenly threw his hammer at it violently, destroying it completely before it could even hit the wall. Everyone was in a tense silence before they heard a creepy murmur coming from the robot about to shut down, and Primrose instantly recognized it as an avid Disney fan.

_"I have strings... but now I'm free..."_

Then, nothing.

Ultron was gone, but Primrose knew that this was only the beginning. She saw everyone exchanging looks and then she saw everyone, except for Bruce, glance at her dad with tense expressions that could only mean that they were about to blame this whole thing on her dad. She didn't like it, Primrose felt like shielding him from those glares, especially Steve's.

Sighing, Primrose could only think one thing.

_'Here we go again.'_


	36. Tension - Age of Ultron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is short. Like, really short, but I wanted to update. I have no energy left to write more and if I waited to have it back you guys would have to wait until Tuesday because tomorrow I won't be able to be on a computer.
> 
> I have watched Far From Home and wow! All I can say is that I already have ways to insert Primrose in the movie but don't worry because MJ is a great character and I won't toss her aside just like that. I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE CIVIL WAR AND HOMECOMING!
> 
> Enjoy! Next chapter I will try to wrap up AOU so expect a long chapter!
> 
> PS: I deleted my Author's note but if you missed it, basically I explained why I took so long to update and everything is okay now!

**_Thirty Minutes Later_ **

Primrose stuck close to her dad as everyone decided to retreat to the lab and discuss the events that took place. She didn't like the way Steve and Thor would sometimes glance at her dad, their looks were filled with either anger or disappointment.

Her dad was staring at the mangled suit that Ultron had used to present himself to the group, he had brought it with them and placed it on one of the desks to inspect it with a scowl on his face, all Primrose could do is watch him with concerned eyes.

"All our work is gone," Bruce states out loud, "Ultron cleared out. He used the internet as an escape hatch."

"Ultron," Steve repeated, shaking his head in disbelief.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillances," Natasha began as she crossed her arms, "Probably knows more about us than we know about each other."

"He's in your files, he's in the internet," Rhodey says as he grips his wounded arm, "What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

"Nuclear codes," Maria said as she sat on a chair, picking up glass shards from her bloody feet. Primrose cringed at the sight and decided to look at her godfather again.

"Nuclear codes," Rhodey nodded, "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

Instantly, Primrose thought about her mom. Her pregnant mom that was home alone at the moment, unaware of the events that just happened and possibly in danger as well.

"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead," Natasha said.

"He didn't say dead," Steve cut her quickly, "He said extinct."

"He also said he killed somebody," Clint reminded everyone as he walked closer to the group.

"There wasn't anyone else in the building," Maria told him with a confused look on her face.

Then, slowly, a look of horror crossed Primrose's expression as she realized the only person Ultron could've been talking about. She watched her dad walk up to the center of the lab and confirm her fear.

"Yes, there was," Tony stated with a somber tone as suddenly a flash of yellowish-orange color appeared before them.

Primrose chocked and quickly walked up to her dad's side, staring with a horrified expression at the torn apart holographic image that used to be JARVIS corporated. She felt her dad place a hand on her head to comfort her, but she couldn't help to tear up and sob a little.

"U-Uncle JARVIS?" she called out tentatively, and sobbed, even more, when he didn't respond immediately as he would do.

Everyone gave Primrose concerned and saddened looks, but Tony remained by her side with a now cold expression, this was now personal. Ultron killed his butler and friend and he made his daughter cry, there was no way Tony was allowing him to get away with this shit. As he rubbed her hand on her hand to calm her down, Bruce approached the broken holographic image with a shocked expression.

"What?" he questioned to himself, "This is insane."

"JARVIS was the first line of defense. He would have shut Ultron down," Primrose heard Steve said, switching to his military mode and making Primrose roll her eyes as she cleaned her tears away, that sobered her up instantly.

"He wasn't a soldier," she muttered through gritted teeth.

"No. Ultron would've assimilated JARVIS. This isn't strategy..."

"It's rage," Primrose finished for him with a sad tone, and Bruce nodded at her, feeling sympathetic for the pre-teen.

The conversation was interrupted when Primrose saw Thor arriving back at the lab and stalking towards her dad with a furious look on his face, she gasped when he suddenly grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air like he was weightless.

"PUT HIM DOWN!" Primrose yelled at once, marching towards them quickly and kicking Thor in the leg, but the blonde didn't even flinch.

"It's going around," Clint deadpanned.

Seeing her dad struggle in the air was a sight that Primrose would never forgive Thor for, she kept kicking him until Steve grabbed her and pulled her away, afraid that she'd get hurt.

"Come on, use your words, buddy," Tony wheezed out, "My daughter is here, don't do this."

Thor seemed to wake up from his anger, he glanced down at Primrose and saw her struggle against Steve while glaring at him.

"PUT HIM DOWN NOW! STOP IT!" She screamed, and everyone was suddenly looking at Thor with judgemental looks. No one dared to try to pry Thor's hands from Tony's neck but as much they were angry at Tony, and Bruce, they didn't accept the way the blonde was handling the situation, especially since there was a thirteen-year-old in the room that loved her dad very much.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark," He sneered before letting go of Tony and watch him drop on the floor.

Instantly, Steve let go of Primrose and she ran to his side as her dad coughing, trying to breathe regularly again.

"I'm fine, honey," he whispered to her, hugging his daughter when she wrapped her arms around his torso.

But Primrose, still angered by Thor's actions, glared at him again, "You gave you the right to do that?! There is no reason to choke someone out of nowhere, especially when all of this isn't his fault entirely! He only wanted to protect everyone, it's not my dad's fault Ultron showed up!" she yelled at Thor, who recoiled at her tone and realized what he had done in front of Primrose, "Everyone needs to calm down! And you need to stay away from my dad, and me! My dad already suffered enough at the hands of people that he thought were friends, he doesn't need to go through it again!"

"Prim, ssh, it's okay. It's fine. I'm okay," Tony kept whispered, bringing her close to him.

Thor couldn't handle her fiery eyes anymore, he was only used to her adoration and fascinated ones, he looked at the floor shamefully as Steve, who carried a tense expression, approached him to dissolve the situation and possibly move on from the uncomfortable aura spreading quickly around the room because of her outburst. But almost everyone was on Primrose's side. Rhodey himself was pissed but harmed, so even if he wanted to stop Thor himself, he couldn't. But he was damn proud of Primrose for standing up to her dad and go off on Thor without any fear, she was definitely Tony's daughter.

Sighing, Steve looked at Thor, "The Legionnaire," he commanded.

"Trail went cold about one hundred miles out, but it's headed north," Thor informed everyone before pausing, "And it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it again."

"Genie's out of that bottle," Natasha told him, still not over what he just did in front of Primrose but trying to remain professional, "Clear and present is Ultron."

"I don't understand," Helen suddenly said as she was looking at one of the mangled suits, "You built this program," she looked at Tony while he walked up to one of the panels with Primrose following behind, sending a look towards Thor before looking at Helen while she walked, "Why is it trying to kill us?" she questioned the genius.

Then Primrose heard her dad do something she was not expecting, he started laughing.

Bruce, who was standing next to him, instantly started to shake his head at him, trying to stop him as he saw everyone's glares.

"Not good," Primrose mumbled, knowing this was going to be bad.

"You think this is funny?" Thor asked with an angry smile.

"No?" Tony replied as he turned around, "It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. It is so It is It's so terrible," Primrose was looking at him warily as he looked at everyone, seemingly trying to hold a chuckle.

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor told him with a patronizing tone.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, it is funny," her dad sneered as he approached the blonde. Primrose decided to stay behind because she wanted her dad to defend himself, "It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time," Bruce advised.

"Really?" her dad snapped as he turned to look at the scientist, "That's it? You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?"

"Only when I've created a murder bot," Bruce retorted with an uncomfortable look on his face.

Primrose could feel some sympathy for the doctor, Bruce was a peaceful man and he avoided confrontations all the time. She was actually surprised Hulk didn't show up minutes ago when they were fighting against Ultron.

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" he asked Bruce, and his answer was a simple shrug.

"Well," Steve began, cutting in, "You did something right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD," the blonde said with a scornful tone.

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony asked everyone.

Primrose frowned, as almost everyone rolled their eyes at that. It seems like they have forgotten she almost lost her dad that day.

"No, it's never come up," She heard her godfather sarcastically state, and Primrose couldn't help to give him a disappointed look.

"Saved New York?"

"Never heard that," Rhodey continued.

"I do."

At the sound of Primrose's meek voice, the group felt instantly guilty. The Avengers remember hearing Primrose's crying and screaming over their earpieces and even though Tony wouldn't shut up about saving New York, they felt terrible for their reactions when Tony brought it up this time. Natasha sighed, she had been with Primrose when Tony flew into the wormhole and the look and desperation for wanting her dad back on Primrose's face would forever haunt her – so right now, she decided to stop rolling her eyes and pay better attention to where Tony was going with his statement.

Tony beckoned Primrose by reaching out his arm towards her, and his daughter quickly extended hers and grabbed holding of his hand, both comforting each other. They have suffered because of that day, they had nightmares and Tony's PTSD and obsession with making his Iron Legion almost ruined everything he achieved with Pepper.

"Recall that?" Her dad finally continued, "A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it," he looked at everyone in the room, trying to make a point as Primrose squeezed his hand, "We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that's... that's the endgame," Tony then looked at Steve, "How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together," Steve promptly told him.

"We'll lose," her dad stated, and she didn't like what he said.

"Then we'll do that together, too," Steve continued, and Primrose was actually pleased to hear that they were still at least considered a team, however, she didn't like the losing part. His reply was all it took to silence her dad, she watched him gaze away from Steve and pull her towards a desk with a thoughtful expression.

"Dad, are you okay?" she whispered at him, and Tony was able to nod as he brought her closer to him. His daughter was the only person keeping him calm nowadays.

"Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us," Steve continued, leading on as the commander of the team as everyone listened attentively, "The world's a big place, let's start making it smaller."

* * *

**May 3rd  
Sunday**

Primrose didn't go back to Emma's. Tony called her as soon as the meeting was over yesterday and explained the situation. Emma was of course, distressed but she was told that Ultron had intel on everyone and he could track Primrose back to her. Emma had to gather all of her motherly strength back because all she wanted was to contact Primrose. The thirteen-year-old had turned off her phone by her dad's request and she was told to be always close to the team and never try to contact someone, she couldn't warn her friends and Primrose was worried about them.

Tony also told Emma that this might take more than a day, so she needed to tell her school that Primrose was sick because going to school would be dangerous as well, and Tony was not letting his daughter be unsupervised for seven hours with Ultron on the loose.

Primrose was mainly scared for her mom and friends, but she understands why she couldn't leave the tower, her dad and the team were only protecting her. But even so, she barely slept and woke up early to see that apparently everyone woke up early as well, there was no time to lose.

Dr. Cho returned to Seoul because she wanted to be safe there, both said farewell to each other with a hug, remembering the moment they hid behind the piano, and Primrose would never stop thanking Helen for protecting her – neither would Tony, who sent her away on First Class.

Rhodey promised Primrose to check on her mom before leaving to Washington D.C to warn the government about Ultron and prepare for the worst.

Primrose wished she could help them as well, but all she can do is sit on a desk, eating a granola bar, and watch as the team searched through files after files on the computer, trying to see if there was any that hasn't been emptied by Ultron. As she finished eating her granola bar, she saw Steve walking in with a tense expression with a tablet on his hand, he showed the screen to Thor while Primrose hopped from the desk to curiously know what was happening.

"What's this?" her dad asked as he approached Thor.

"A message," as Steve responded to Tony's question, Thor placed the tablet on his chest with a blunt force, which made Primrose scowl at him. He still wasn't forgiven for his actions yesterday, "Ultron killed Strucker."

At that statement, Primrose was surprised. She wanted to peak at the tablet's screen but Tony elevated it higher to deny his daughter the gruesome scene.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us," her dad stated impishly as Bruce looked at the screen through Tony's shoulder.

"This is a smokescreen. Why send us a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha questioned.

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss," Steve replied.

"Yeah I bet he–" Primrose saw Natasha try to open the files on Strucker on the computer but everything had been deleted, "Yeah," she confirmed, "Everything we had on Strucker's been erased."

"Not everything," Steve said.

Primrose instantly knew what he was talking about, "Only an old man could think of that right away," she smirked at him, and even though the situation was tense, Steve smiled.

Minutes later, or almost an hour, there was a bunch of boxes filled with hard copy files. The smell of paper brought Primrose's artistic side out and she almost went to her room to draw, but she needed to focus and try to be as helpful as she could be.

"Can I help, dad?" she asked shyly as he dad opened a new box.

"Sure, if you see the name 'Strucker' just tell me, okay?" he smiled as he pushed a box towards her.

Excited to finally be part of something, she nodded and began digging in on the files.

"Known associates," Steve said as he too, opened a box, "Baron Strucker had a lot of friends."

"Well, these people are all horrible," Bruce deadpanned as he looked at each file.

"Wait. I know that guy!" her dad suddenly said as he looked at one of the files Bruce had in hand, "Back from the day. He operates off the African coast. Black markets arms," Steve gave him a look but Tony quickly explained himself with squinted away, offended by his judgemental look, "There are conventions, all right? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything."

"I know you didn't dad," she smiled at him.

Tony looked at her with a smirk before continuing, "He was talking about finding something new. A game-changer. It was all very Ahab."

Thor stared at the photo in the file and pointed at it, "This?" Primrose saw him interested in the tattoo on the man's skin.

"Ah, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it," her dad explained.

"No, those are tattoos," Thor stated as he pointed his finger at the tattoo's that were on Klaw's chest, "This is a brand," he insisted as he pointed back at the symbol.

Bruce quickly searched for the symbol on the computer, and seconds later he found a match, "Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief' in a much less friendly way," the doctor explained as he looked at the screen and then back the group.

"What dialect?" Steve asked.

"Wakanada," Bruce stuttered as he read out, "Wakanda," he quickly corrected himself, and Primrose snorted a little bit at his first pronunciation.

She looked at her dad to see his reaction and watched him and Steve exchanged looks.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods" her dad trailed off.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it," Steve questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Primrose asked, confusedly.

"Vibranium, honey. Wakanda has lots of it, and they come out of there," Tony told her, "It's the strongest metal on Earth."

"You mean, the stuff that my grandfather used to make Mr. Rogers' shield?!" she exclaimed, shocked that Ultron was after vibranium.

Steve nodded at her, and Primrose now understand why they were both so tense.

"Where is this guy now?" Steve asked her dad.

* * *

**Location: Salvage Yard, African Coast**

Tracking Klaw hadn't been easy without JARVIS, but her dad was able to do it after two hours of searching. Primrose had no idea she would be coming along, but her dad said that she was going to stay behind in the Quinjet with Bruce until they fight against Ultron. They were expecting the Maximoff twins to be with him but Steve ordered everyone not to attack them without letting him persuade the twins to realize they were on the wrong side.

When everyone left the Quinjet towards Klaw's ship, Tony stayed behind briefly to make sure his daughter knew the plan. If there was a need for 'Code Green' which was Bruce bringing the Hulk out, she was to hide on the Quinjet's bathroom, not make a sound and leave only when someone from the team says the 'safe now' code word.

It's been at least three minutes of comfortable silence between Bruce and Primrose when Bruce noticed that his earpiece was giving off a lot of static that he couldn't understand.

"Guys? Is this a code green?" he tried to confirm, but he got no answer.

He exchanged a worried look with Prim and gestured her to stay on her seat as he opened the back of the Quinjet. Soon enough, both started hearing gunshots coming from the abandoned ship and Primrose couldn't help to stand up and stay near Bruce as both tried to figure out what was happening.

"Is everything okay?" she asked the doctor.

"I don't know,"

Five more minutes passed and Primrose was getting concerned. She went back inside the Quintjet and grabbed an extra earpiece from the table and when she put it on her ear all she could hear was static and that was weird.

"Dad?" she called out as Bruce seemingly spotted some movement near the landing zone. When he walked out to see it better, his eyes widened at the recognizable Maximoff twins making their way there.

"Prim!" without turning around to reveal to them that there was someone else with him, he quickly told her: "Hide! Now!"

She obeyed instantly, making her way to the toilet and locking herself inside. Seconds later she hears voices.

"Dr. Banner, yes? Big fan of you!" it was a male voice, and Primrose notice the distinct eastern-European accent, he also sounded young and genuinely excited.

"Be still doctor, this won't hurt," a female said this time, with the same accent flowing in her tone.

"Guys, please don–AH!" Primrose frowned when Bruce suddenly yelled, she heard some struggle and then the silence was killing her. Primrose peaked through the small window of the toilet room and covered her mouth when she saw the Bruce changing to Hulk as he punched the air and circled the area. It was inevitable, but Primrose knew this had been forced by the hands of Wanda Maximoff. Maria told her she was weird but it was later explained to her Wanda could create illusions of your worst fears and control objects with her hands. This must've been part of Ultron's plan, and seeing the bewitched and rageful Hulk starting to advance towards the city nearby made Primrose back away from the window and sit down on the toilet seat, her face covered.

If only she could've fought against the twins by herself. She could've saved Bruce.

"It is done, now you can rest," she heard Pietro say.

"We need to go back and wait for his instructions," Wanda stated, but Primrose noticed that she sounded out of breath, possibly hurt.

"No! We are done with our part, we go now, you are hurting, sister!" Pietro insisted.

Primrose then heard a 'whooshing sound' and there was silence. She could see they care about each other a lot, and she wasn't denying it. They were twins, after all, they had a bond. And even though they just committed to doing something awful under the orders of Ultron, hearing them care about each other still showed that they at least had love inside of them. But as she remembered that the Hulk was probably destroying a city thanks to Wanda Maximoff – Primrose couldn't see any redemption from them that soon.

* * *

When everyone returned, Primrose helped Clint carry a dazed-looking Natasha inside and sat her down. Both Thor and Steve looked shaken as well, but they were good at keeping it down to themselves. Minutes later, her dad showed up, carrying an unconscious Bruce while he flew, and when he landed on the ground he marched inside and placed the man on the floor, his back resting against the wall.

When Tony got out of his suit, he instantly made his way towards Primrose and hugged her close – relieved to beyond to see her fine and bewitched-less. His main fear was that the twins got to her and that the little witch had messed with her mind as well, or worse, that Ultron planned to kidnap Primrose just to take a jab at him. Ever since Killian took her away from him, Tony has been paranoid about his enemies thinking on doing the same thing.

When on the air, Primrose saw Bruce shiver while knocked out so she quickly grabbed the loo blanket from the cabinet next to the toilet and covered his exposed and sweaty torso with it – that woke him up and he was so startled by her touch that she jumped as well, scared by his sudden awakening.

"Sorry" he groaned, "Sorry, Prim. Oh God, are you okay?" thinking he might've hurt her during his Hulking out, he reached for her arm with desperate eyes.

She kneeled next to him and hugged him, surprising him, "You didn't do anything wrong, Dr. Banner, it was Wanda. Not you. Not even Hulk."

That seemed to have comforted him a little, but Bruce was still shaken about being manipulated like that.

Minutes later, Primrose walked towards her dad and he smiled weakly at her, trying to remain positive with his daughter around. Primrose could see that everyone had defeated looks on their faces, and she couldn't blame them. Whatever Wanda made them see brought out the inner memories they were trying to keep forgetting. Tony pulled his daughter to himself and sat her on his lap, holding her gently as he cradled her. She didn't even think about complaining and telling him that she was too old for this, Primrose even appreciated being in the arms of the only man she will ever trust. This was comforting for both Starks.

_"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is,"_  Maria informed through the Quinjet's communicator as Clint flew it,  _"There's been no official call for Banner's arrest but it's in the air."_

Primrose frowned, no way that was happening.

"The Stark Relief Foundation?" Steve prompted.

_"Already on the scene,"_  Maria replied,  _"How's the team?"_

"Everyone's" her dad began, but then he brought Primrose closer to himself before continuing, "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

_"Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here,"_  Maria advised.

"So, run and hide?" her dad stated, not liking the idea.

_"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer,"_  she told him with a sympathetic tone.

Her dad sighed and straightened up on his seat, still letting Primrose sit on his lap as he looked behind at the Avengers with a sad look, "Neither do we," he then turned off the communication, "Can you stand up for me quickly? I need to talk with Clint," he told his daughter before quickly kissing her cheek.

Primrose nodded and silently rose to her feet to allow her dad to stand up and when he left she quickly sat back down on his chair, feeling his warmth still in it. She watched as he walked up to Clint and patted the back of the pilot's seat before holding on to the handle.

"Hey, you wanna switch out?" Tony asked good-naturedly.

"No, I'm good," Clint told him as Tony looked around the clouds, trying to point out where they were going, "You know if you and Prim wanna get some kip, now's a good time because we're still a few hours out," he added.

"A few hours from where?" Tony asked as Primrose thought the same question.

"A safe house," Clint said.


	37. Leap of Faith - Age of Ultron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was cursed for me. First, I had to write it on a very slow laptop - that was not fun. Then it seems that I lost the chapter, band after suffering a panic attack I remembered I had it saved on my Images folder instead of Documents folder for some stupid reason? THEN THIS SITE WAS NOT ACCEPTING THE DOCUMENT IN THE 'DOC MANAGER'. I basically had to sell my soul to upload this.
> 
> PS: Sorry about the mistakes, I can literally see colors from how much tired I am and I'm about to go to sleep so I'll try to correct them tomorrow!

**Location: Barton's Homestead, Somewhere in Missouri**

**May 4th, Monday**

It was dawn when Clint finally landed the Quinjet. The team and Primrose made their way out, with Clint leading while holding Natasha steady as they walked, Tony walking with Primrose by his side, then behind them, Thor and finally a better looking Bruce.

Primrose couldn't help to look around with wonder and curiosity. This was indeed a safe house because it was in the middle of nowhere and no one would suspect the Avengers hiding in a farmhouse surrounded by a grassy land and then a vast forest.

As they approached the property, and while ascending the stairs to the porch and main entrance, Primrose couldn't help but noticing a unicorn plushie sitting on a rocking chair to the door's left, and that intrigued her.

"What is this place?" Thor asked her dad, and she frowned at him, still upset about his violent act towards him.

"Safehouse," Tony replied, wondering if he was right while shrugging.

As Clint opened the door, he turned at them, "Let's hope," he told them as he walked in with Natasha by his side.

Primrose suddenly felt her dad grab her hand and she grabbed his back, both already on high alert by what could come.

"Honey? I'm home," Clint suddenly called out as they entered a resting area connected to the kitchen.

Instantly, Primrose saw a woman coming from around the corner. She had long, brown hair and matching eyes and a surprised look on her face, but what Primrose noticed the most was that she was heavily pregnant. She was carrying big pieces of paper filled with colorful drawings that piqued Primrose's interest right away.

"Hi," Clint greeted her while smiling widely, "Company. Sorry I didn't call ahead," he approached her and both hugged at the same time, and then, to everyone's surprise, they also kissed each other's lips.

"This is an agent of some kind," Primrose heard her dad try to rationalize instead of accepting what was currently happening. She arched an eyebrow at him and looked at Clint and the woman again.

"Gentlemen, and Prim, this is Laura, my wife," Clint finally introduced as he turned towards the group with a proud grin on his face.

Laura waved at everyone while giving a friendly, albeit nervous, smile, "I know all of your names" she looked down at Primrose and her smile changed to motherly, "Even you, Primrose. Clint likes to talk about you," the brunette told the thirteen-year-old with a special glint in her eyes.

Primrose smiled shyly at her before waving shortly, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Barton."

Before anyone could say something about the mild awkward situation, many footsteps were heard coming down the stairs.

"Oh, incoming," Clint excitedly stated as and suddenly two children, first a girl and an older boy following her, barged into the room and ran straight to the archer with grins on their faces. The girl was wearing a blue dress with a yellow cardigan, she had long, brown hair like Laura that was styled in two braids. If Primrose could guess, she'd say the girl was probably around six or seven years old. Then the boy, he looked like Clint but still with his mother's hair color. He was wearings jeans with a black-striped and red cardigan over a yellow t-shirt and he looked to be around ten years old.

Primrose grumpily thought that this boy, who was younger than her, was visibly taller.

Clint laughed as his daughter glomped him, he caught her and carried her on his arm while his son hugged his other side, hugging him as well, "Hey buddy! How are you guys doing?" the archer asked as he ruffled his son's hair.

Primrose smiled at the scene, while the adults around her either looked confused or intrigued.

"These are smaller agents," her dad tried, still on insisting that this wasn't happening.

"Oh, my goodness!" Clint carried on with a fatherly tone, kissing his daughter's forehead before putting her down on the floor.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" Primrose heard the girl ask, and she quickly looked at Natasha, who was hiding in the corner, with shock. She saw the redhead agent slowly smile affectionately at the little girl.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Natasha said out loud, getting their attention as she walked up to them. The little girl met her halfway and Natasha quickly scooped her up while chuckling.

"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve prompted, nodding at Laura.

"Yeah, we would have called ahead but we were busy having no idea you existed," Her dad quipped, somehow sounding offended that Clint has never brought up the fact that he had a family.

"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined," Clint began explaining, looking at the group with an apologetic expression and wordlessly telling everyone that it wasn't personal, "He kept it off SHIELD's files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low."

"I knew it," Primrose suddenly stated, eyeing Clint with a smug smile, "You were too patient with me and you gave me a lot of advice about school. I mean, you taught me how to shoot an arrow and you used a very fatherly tone. I knew that you had to be a dad, I just didn't know you were" she looked at the girl and the boy, "Well, actually one!"

Clint and Laura laughed at her, but not in mocking way, it was with pure adoration over the fact that Primrose had been suspicious before.

"You were right Clint, she is keen," Laura commented as she nudged him, "Nat, I missed you!" she then walked up to Natasha, who quickly placed her hands on the baby bump.

"How's little Natasha?" the redhead asked, and Primrose curiously watched them as the rest of the group made themselves more comfortable.

"She's Nathaniel" Laura announced with an apologetic smile. And the look of betrayal that Natasha gave the bump was all Primrose needed to know that she was expecting a baby girl, not a boy.

Primrose heard a crunchy sound behind her when she was about to see Natasha's reaction, she looked behind her to see Thor kicking away a Lego house he had stepped on. Both she and Steve gave him a judgemental look when he started kicking it under the chair to hide it, while Primrose was still mad at him she couldn't help to be fond of his character.

Suddenly, Clint's daughter approached Thor and stared at him. Primrose watched her with a strange look on her face, and when she looked back at Thor, the blonde seemed to be having a mental fight with himself. Then, she was startled when two toasts popped out of the toaster before she could turn around again, Thor passed by her, towards the main door. She watched as Steve followed him quickly, but instead of going after them she looked back at the little girl, who was now staring at her.

Feeling a little awkward, Primrose decided to strike a conversation, "Hi, I'm Primrose! But you can call me Prim," she offered her a friendly smile.

"I'm Lila," she smiled back.

"Well, Lila, do you like drawing?" Primrose asked, sensing that the papers with the colorful drawings that Laura had in hand before belonged to her.

Lila nodded, looking more enthusiastic.

"Great, I do too. Wanna draw together?" she questioned, begging for her to say yes because Primrose really needed a distraction right now.

"Yes! Let's go to my room I wanna show you everything," Lila dutifully said as she grabbed Primrose's hand and guided her upstairs without giving her the chance to talk.

Unbeknown to them, Tony watched the whole interaction with Clint as Laura and Natasha talked. Tony was relieved that his daughter was befriending someone and getting distracted and when he exchanged a nod with Clint, the two were on the same side here: keeping Primrose stressless.

—

**One Hour Later**

Primrose had to admit that Clint's home was cozy. Living in a farmhouse surrounded by nature wasn't so bad, but she'll always be a city girl through and through.

Before playing with Lila, Laura offered Primrose to shower first and the thirteen-year-old was thankful about it. She ended up borrowing some of Cooper's clothes since Lila was too short for her clothes to fit. Cooper was stunned when his mom barged into his room and took a pair of his gray joggers plus a blue hooded tee for Primrose to wear, and she would forever be mortified when Laura also handed her a pair of his loosest boxers as well and promised to wash her laundry as fast as possible so she could to return it later at night – surprisingly enough, instead of feeling awkward about it, Laura's motherly and casual tone was all it took for Primrose not to make a big deal out of it.

After a quick shower, because other people wanted to shower as well, Primrose put Cooper's clothes on and she loved how loose and comfortable they felt on her body, and she had to admit that wearing boxers wasn't that bad. She finally looked for Lila and the two begin their drawing session.

Lila's bedroom was colorful, filled with drawings on the wall and with even more scattered papers with unfinished drawings on them and toys. Primrose had noticed the large dollhouse sitting in the corner, and Lila quickly told her that her dad had made it for her eighth birthday with a proud tone. So now Primrose knew that besides being a flawless archer, Clint was a good builder as well.

Lila showed her everything: her favorites dolls and their names, all of her drawings, clothes, seashell collection, cool shaped stones collection, and her drawing supplies that were still being used after many years. Lila even showed Primrose her first color pencils case – all in good shape.

They lied down on the dustless floor and Lila gave her a piece of paper and a lot of supplies to use, and so the two began drawing in a comfortable silence until they were interrupted by Lila's brother, who shyly introduced himself as Cooper while avoiding looking at Primrose's eyes and then asking her if she wanted to play video games with him.

Before Primrose could've said something, Lila told him she was drawing with her. Instead of starting a fight, Cooper was understanding and told Primrose if she still wanted to play later, to tell him. All Primrose did was smile at him and introduce herself before thanking him, that led for Cooper's cheeks to become rosy and make him leave quickly with a quick nod.

They finished drawing and while Lila was putting away the supplies, Primrose was looking outside through her window, watching her dad and Steve talk while both tried to be helpful by chopping some wood. She sighed, they looked like they were arguing and Thor was now gone, Primrose was worried about the whole situation and not being able to call her mom was making her even more nervous – Rhodey promised that her mom was fine but anything can happen at this point.

"Are you okay, Prim?" Lila suddenly asked as she put away a plastic container filled with crayons, coloring pencils, and pens, on top of her desk.

Looking away from the window, Primrose smiled at the little girl and nodded, "Yeah, I'm just worried about my mom."

Lila frowned sadly, "Oh, why didn't she come with you guys?" she asked innocently, and Primrose couldn't help but feel bad for her. She was once in Lila's place, questioning everything like the answer was easy to deliver. It was her time to make sure Lila was oblivious and make her think this was just a friendly visit.

Primrose thought about her next words carefully, she imagined that she was talking with Mabel so she had to remain calm, "Well, she couldn't come. Or else she'd be in trouble," to change the subject, Primrose quickly brought up something joyful to make Lila stop frowning, "Did you know my mom is also pregnant?"

That lit Lila's face instantly, "Really?! Are you gonna have a brother or a sister?" she quickly asked.

"I'm having a brother, like you!" Primrose chuckled as Lila began jumping on the spot from excitement.

"That's great! Did you know that Auntie Nat wanted mom to have a girl? Mom was gonna name her Natasha, just like her! But now it's gonna be Nathaniel, which is okay too, I guess"

"You wanted a little sister?" Primrose asked with a sympathetic tone.

Lila nodded, but then quickly shrugged with a smile on her lips, "As long as my baby brother is healthy, I'm happy!"

Primrose smiled at Lila as she began humming and making her bed, she decided to help the girl as a distraction, she needed to clear her mind for a while.

—

**6:34 PM**

It was now dinner time and Primrose was relieved because of how hungry she was. Although she would never complain about it out loud because she was a guest and she was polite, Primrose's stomach started to complain as soon as Laura's cooking delicious scent visited the two girls upstairs.

Primrose was and wasn't surprised when she saw Fury chilling in the kitchen with her dad and Steve when Lila suggested they continuing drawing downstairs in the living room, near everyone. This was a crisis and Maria must have sent him to bring back the motivation to the team, they were all still a little dispirited after what Wanda Maximoff did to them and Primrose couldn't help to have ill feelings towards her because of that.

Fury had greeted both Lila and Primrose well enough and it was clear that he's been in the house for a while now. Lila actually hugged his legs before she ran back to the living room, where she placed more drawing supplies and paper on the coffee table, and Primrose merely smiled at him, stating that she was glad he was alive (even though her dad did tell her that Fury's death had been a hoax) and that she was happy to see her amazing sky pirate again.

At that, Fury genuinely smiled at the memories of a ten-year-old looking at him in awe and calling him "sky pirate" with such confidence. He hasn't seen Primrose for three years now, obviously, she was now taller and didn't look like a kid anymore, but hearing her call him that even after all these years was refreshing for Fury.

After a delicious dinner, Primrose decided to play darts with her dad and Clint as everyone was scattered around the room, listening to Fury's input on the whole situation. Primrose was also paying attention because she wanted everyone to know how mature enough she already was and that she was taking this very seriously.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time," he stated, "My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he went off with, I don't think it's just one thing,"

Fury finished drying the cleaned cup that he washed and turned to look at Steve, who was leaning against the doorway with a solemn expression, "What about Ultron himself?" the blonde asked.

"Oh, he's easy to track. He's everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit," Primrose arched her eyebrow at Fury's remark and looked at her dad for some closure, but the genius merely focused on trying to land his dart on the bullseye, "It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though," Fury continued as Primrose watched her dad throw the dart, who didn't hit the middle of the bullseye by a little.

"Is he still going after the launch codes?" Tony asked he threw a dart again. It was clear that he was feeling nervous about the answer, and Primrose knew that he was only playing to distract himself.

"Yes, he is. But he's not making any headway," Fury answered as he cut some bread for himself. Primrose wondered how he was still hungry after that dinner.

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare," Her dad announced, and Primrose gave him a surprised look so he explained further for her sake, "I did nothing bad honey, just cracked it and left right away. But at least it was thanks to me that they updated their security system for the better, although it's still weak and if they hire me I could–"

"Okay dad, I get it," Primrose interrupted as she felt Fury glaring at her dad, wanting to continue with the serious situation.

"As I was saying," Fury pressed, "I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that," he stated as he parted the slice of bread in the middle.

"Nexus?" Steve wondered out loud.

"It's the world Internet hub in Oslo," Bruce told him, "Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth."

Primrose gave Bruce an impressed look, "Imagine playing online games there," she quipped, making her dad smile a little.

Natasha smirked at Primrose's remark as well, glad to see that the teen was mentally well enough to throw a small joke on a serious situation. She was Tony's daughter all right.

"So, what did they say?" Clint asked as he inspected a dart near the kitchen sink.

"He's fixated on the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed," Fury explained.

"By whom?" Tony questioned, but he was suddenly startled when suddenly a dart passed by fastly and hit the bullseye on the dartboard from across the kitchen, she looked at Clint, who had obviously thrown it, with widened eyes and an awed look on her face. Clint smirked playfully and shrugged when Tony gave him an unimpressed look and Primrose, who trusted the archer's abilities and knew he'd never hit her dad, chuckled at their childish antics.

"Parties unknown," Fury stated, giving Tony and Clint an annoyed look as he took a bite from his bread.

"Do we have an ally?" Natasha asked hopefully from the table.

"Ultron's got an enemy. That's not the same thing," Fury told her.

Primrose furrowed her eyebrows, why wasn't the same thing? "What about 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' quote? Can't we try to persuade his enemy to be on our side?" she asked Fury.

The black man gave her a nod, appreciating her input, "That would be great, but I'd pay folding money to know who it is," Fury told her.

"Oh" she sighed, they didn't know who or what Ultron's enemy was.

"But nice try," Tony told her quickly, wanting her to cheer up. She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her cheeks. He patted her head as he looked at Fury again, "I might need to visit Oslo. Find our unknown," as Primrose felt his warm and reassuring hand on her head, she knew her dad meant that she was coming with him to Oslo as well, she noticed that this has been the most protective he has ever been towards her – she wondered what happened during the scepter's retrieval in Sokovia, and she wanted to know what did his haunted expression meant. But Primrose had a feeling that her dad was keeping it from her for a reason.

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that," Natasha suddenly stated towards Fury.

The man himself didn't look hurt at her comment, "I do. I have you," he said with a matter-of-fact tone as he glanced at each team members solemn expressions, "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up," Primrose couldn't help but feel that the last part was a personal comment towards her dad, she looked up at him an saw his impassive face, staring at Fury attentively as his hand fell on her shoulder, "Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world." Fury continued as he walked up to the center of the kitchen to stand in the middle of the group.

Primrose now knew she was right about Fury's visit. He was really trying to motivate the team again. She began smiling as Fury continued.

"Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission," Fury stated as he made eye contact with every single person in the room, including Primrose, who nodded at him to show that she was paying attention as well, "And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave," he continued as he gestured around the kitchen.

Clint looked away for a moment with an uncomfortable expression as he thought about his family, sitting on the other room to give them some privacy. His children probably weren't aware of the situation and Laura was trying to remain calm for the sake of their baby – Clint knew that failing was not an option. He needed to make sure his family had a future.

Primrose felt her dad's hand on her shoulder tighten slightly so she leaned towards him further, to comfort him. Fury's words were getting to him, and Tony couldn't imagine losing his daughter at the hands of a monster he created – Ultron was supposed to be Earther's shield, he was supposed to be the reason for his retirement so he could spend more time with his daughter and Pepper. But now he had created a major threat, not only to his daughter but to the entire world.

"So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard," Fury remarked with a final tone of voice as he sat down at the table, finishing his speech.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of language, especially in Prim's presence," Natasha quipped as she looked at Steve with a mischevious look before winking at the teen.

Primrose giggled a little when Steve raised his eyebrows and gave her a challenging look, "You know what, Romanoff?" he retorted with a playful tone.

"So, what does he want?" Fury asked out loud, bringing the conversation back to its original topic.

"To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies," Steve theorized.

"Person bodies," Tony corrected him, "The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it," as she listened to her dad, Primrose noticed Bruce approaching the table while staring at the butterfly drawing that Lila made for Natasha.

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed," the redhead quipped as she glanced from Bruce towards Tony. And Primrose, albeit wanting to defend her dad and the doctor she had grown fond over the years, couldn't help but to silently agree with her. Although it had been an accident, Ultron was a successful failure.

"They don't need to be protected. They need to evolve," Bruce stated with a solemn tone as he stared at the drawing. Everyone looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain, "Ultron's going to evolve."

Now Primrose understood why he had so much interest in the butterfly drawing. Butterflies evolve from caterpillars, "Ultron feels like he's in a cacoon, he wants to become a butterfly. A vibranium, indestructible butterfly," she clarified as she looked up at her dad, whose jaw was tight from being so tense.

Bruce nodded at her, a proud smile on his face as the rest of the team realized that Primrose was right.

"How?" Fury asked the doctor.

Then, instead of responding, Primrose saw his eyes widen as a sudden thought hit him, "Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

Primrose suddenly gasped, remembering when Ultron crashed their party, "He didn't shoot!" she exclaimed, and everyone's eyes were on her, "When he attacked us in the tower! One of the suits was about to shoot us but Ultron stopped it, I think he did that because he knew who she was and what she has in her lab in Seoul!" Primrose was filled with adrenaline as she finally understood the reason, "That is why he didn't shoot us – because he was going to use Dr. Cho to make his new body with the Cradle! She told me it can create limbs, remember?" she explained further on.

The Avengers looked at each other after hearing Primrose, now they knew where to go next. They needed to go to Seoul and make sure Dr. Cho was still safe from Ultron, and Primrose dearly hoped she was, and make sure that new body of his wasn't completed.

—

**May 5th**

It was now dawn, even before sunrise. And even though Primrose wanted to complain about being sleepy, she knew they had to move fast and quickly to stop Ultron. After a quick breakfast that Laura insisted Primrose to have before they leave, she was left with sitting down on the couch and watch the team around her prepare for the departure.

"Prim, with me," her dad stated, and Primrose obediently followed. She already knew she was going with him to Oslo, so it was no surprise. At least she was visiting Norway, a country she has never been on. Before Primrose could follow her dad, Laura approached them with her laundry already folded in her hands.

Tony nodded at Laura and looked at his daughter, "I need to talk with Steve, be quick, okay?" after seeing her nod, she watched as her dad walked away.

"Here," Primrose was already extending her arms towards the pregnant woman to accept her clothes, a relieved smile on her lips, "Go dress up before you leave, I would ask your dad to keep you here because I think it's safer but I have a feeling he'd wouldn't like that idea," Laura told her in a motherly tone.

Primrose chuckled, exhaling through her nose, "Yeah, you're right about that. He's been acting over-protective ever since Ultron showed up. I can't blame him, though," she confided in her, Primrose felt like it was so easy to speak with Laura. Maybe because she was a mom.

"Just be safe, okay? Thank you for playing with Lila and Cooper, they're homeschooled so they only have each other sometimes."

Primrose glanced at her dad and saw him approach Steve when the blonde returned fully suited, they were talking in the foyer, "I understand" she turned back to give Laura a nod, "I was homeschooled until fifth grade, so I understand how they feel."

Laura's face lit up at her remark, "You're such a good girl, Prim, Clint was so happy to meet you, he's a very fatherly man even though he has to hide it, so you bring that side of his when he's not here," Primrose's cheeks flushed at her statement, "He also mentioned how many times he tried to help you, and how much of a good archer you could actually be if you train," she chuckled, and Primrose followed, "Anyways, go dress up quickly sweetie, I don't think you have much time."

"Thank you, Mrs. Barton," Primrose quickly told her before warning her dad she was going upstairs to – as she jokingly inputted – "suit up" as well. Tony was not impressed but at least she managed to get a loop-sided smile from Steve.

After taking off Cooper's clothes in the bathroom on the hall and putting back her own underwear, knit jeans, and green ombre tee, she put on her Nike sneakers, brushed her hair and tied it into a ponytail. Primrose wished she had her toothbrush as well but all she could do was borrow Cooper's mint toothpaste, put some on her finger and brush her teeth as best as she could. When she was done with everything, she made sure to place Cooper's clothes that were borrowed to her on the dirty laundry basket and go back downstairs quickly because she didn't want to make her dad wait too long.

Steve had already left with Natasha and Clint to Seoul, and her dad told her that Fury took Bruce back to the tower and added that he was going to do something dramatic just to see her smile – it worked.

Before leaving, Lila hugged Primrose goodbye while Cooper shyly waved at her. Primrose didn't know why Cooper had been a little distant around her when she was with Lila, she can only assume that he was a little mad at her for using his clothes. In the Quinjet, when she told her dad her theory, he laughed and simply explained that Cooper probably had an innocent crush on her or something – and that shocked Primrose.

Because, to her knowledge, no one has ever had a crush on her. And it had to be a ten-year-old boy. This reminded her of Harley, she wondered how many messages he had sent to her. They usually talked every day even if it was to only say good morning or goodnight or just to send photos of their meals and discuss which one was better. It was a Sunday so Harley must've wanted to play online games with her – she hoped this whole ordeal could be done soon so Primrose can finally check on her friends.

—

**Location: NEXUS Internet Hub, Oslo, Norway**

Primrose watched as her dad typed away in the computer while workers at the hub watched with concerned expressions.

"A hacker who's faster than Ultron? He could be anywhere," Tony explained out loud, especially towards Primrose, "And as this is the center of everything. I'm just a guy looking for a needle in the world's biggest haystack."

She couldn't help to feel that he threw that farming sounding quip because they have just returned from the Barton farmhouse.

"How do you find it?" A blonde woman asked as she looked over his shoulder, and Primrose noticed at the two other co-workers began chatting between themselves behind her dad.

"It's pretty simple. You bring a magnet," he told her with a casual tone as the two workers behind him began taking photos. Primrose rolled her eyes, but then her dad started singing with a taunting tone,  _"I'm decrypting nuclear codes and you don't want me to, come and get me"_  and then he pressed the 'enter' key and the waiting game began.

—

**Location: Avengers Tower, New York City**

**8:33 PM**

Primrose was definitely in a happier mood when they returned to New York. It was JARVIS. Ultron's enemy, the hacker, it was JARVIS! Their reunion was sweet, and even Tony was relieved to see his robotic butler. The two talked almost every second during the Quinjet ride, and JARVIS was just as pleased to see that Primrose and Tony were all right after he failed to shut Ultron down at the party. Both Starks didn't blame him.

The happiness, however, was outlived when Clint arrived back from Seoul with the Cradle and with the synthetic body that Ultron wanted to own inside of it. He returned alone because Natasha had been taken by Ultron and Steve ordered him to return without him to keep the Cradle away from Ultron, he was returning by himself.

Primrose saw how upset Clint was for losing Natasha, she tried her best to cheer him up, telling him that she was strong and intelligent – that Natasha would find a way to communicate with them. That only made Clint smile weakly because even though he appreciated Primrose trying to comfort him, he couldn't help but to still worry over his best friend.

The Cradle was now turned on. Bruce and her dad were preparing to destroy the synthetic body before it's too late and Ultron gets his hands on it again. Primrose looked at it while everyone was silent. What intrigued her most about the unfinished body was the yellow stone it was forming on its forehead, her kid side was inclined to poke it but her instincts were telling her to stay away. Primrose wondered what would happen if she were to touch it with a finger covered with her Extremis.

Her dad's sudden entrance stopped her thoughts, and everyone looked at him expectantly.

"Anything on Nat?" Bruce asked him.

"I haven't heard," her dad answered, "But she's alive, or Ultron would be rubbing out faces in it," he added to comfort Clint.

The archer hopped down from his standing place and placed an arm on top of the closed Cradle, "This is sealed tight," he commented.

"We're gonna need to access the program, break it down from within," Bruce explained.

Tony hummed, distracted but still listening to Bruce. Primrose watched his thoughtful expression before he turned to Clint, "Any chance Natasha might leave you a message outside the Internet?" he asked the worried archer, "Old-school spy stuff?"

"There are some nets I can cast," Clint replied, his hands on his hips, "Yeah, I'll find her," he quickly added, assuring himself as he walked down the stairs to the lower level, ready to try and track Natasha no matter what.

Tony watched him leave, his expression hesitant but still with a plan forming in his mind.

"I can work on tissue degeneration if you could fry whatever operational system Cho implanted," Bruce began as he started tapping on the device to start cleaning the Cradle.

Primrose watched her dad scratch his head, and she knew he was about to say something neither Bruce or she was going to like.

"Yeah, about that," her dad cut him, not finishing his sentence and hoping Bruce would get it just from his pointed look.

"Dad?" Primrose warned, not liking where this was going.

Bruce stared at Tony with a confused expression at first, but after realizing what Tony meant with that he immediately looked at him with a startled look, "No!"

"You have to trust me," Tony quickly states as he approached him.

Bruce stepped back further, his arms spread, "Kind of don't."

Primrose stared between the two, her mouth agape with what her dad was suggesting.

"Our ally" Tony squinted his eyes as he began explaining what he wanted, "the guys protecting the military's nuclear codes," Primrose now realized where her dad was going with his statement, and as Bruce shook his head thinking how unbelievable Tony was being right now, "I found him," he flipped out his holographic card and a familiar flash of yellowish-orange color appeared before them.

Primrose couldn't but smile at JARVIS while Bruce's eyes widened with shock clear on his expression.

_"Hello, Dr. Banner,"_  JARVIS greeted him courteously.

"Ultron didn't go after JARVIS because he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do," Tony explained further.

Bruce, albeit shocked, was still hesitant with going forward with Tony was suggesting. Even Primrose didn't know if it was a good idea, she trusted JARVIS with her life but what if something goes wrong?

"So JARVIS went underground. Scattered, dumped his memory," Tony continued as the three circled the Cradle. Primrose was now standing next to her dad, giving the synthetic body forming inside of it a frown, "But not his protocols. He didn't even know he was in there until I pieced him together."

Bruce huffed, "So, you want me to help you put JARVIS into this thing?" he questioned as he gestured between her dad and the holographic imagine of JARVIS.

"No! Of course not. I wanna help you put JARVIS in this thing," Tony retorted.

Bruce shook his head while looking exasperated and Tony smiled tightly at him, "We're out of my field, here. You know bio-organics better than anyone," he added as a reason to his statement.

"And you just assume that JARVIS'S operational matrix can beat Ultron's?" Bruce questioned with the face of someone who couldn't believe what they were about to do.

Primrose wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the voice to do it so. Going against her dad was her weakness, even though this idea was truly irresponsible and possibly dangerous, Primrose couldn't find the bravery to say her input on it.

"JARVIS has been beating him from inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity. We can create Ultron's perfect self without the homicidal glitches he things are his winning personality. We have to," Tony finished with a persistent tone.

_"I believe it's worth a go,"_  JARVIS suddenly commented.

Primrose was surprised at that, "Really? You think this is a good idea?"

_"I do."_

JARVIS didn't even hesitate with his answer, and that made Primrose think, "Dad?" she looked at him, "Will JARVIS lose all of his memories once he's transferred into that body?"

Tony stared at her quietly, before slowly nodding.

Primrose's face deflated, she should've seen it coming. After losing JARVIS, she felt so sad and there was a bump on her throat that refused to go down. When she got him back, all of her worries about Ultron went away and now she was about to lose him again, indefinitely. She instantly teared up and looked down at the floor to avoid anyone's eyes, "Well that sucks," she was able to muster out.

Tony and Bruce both gave her a sad look, but Tony was still confident about his plan. He gave Bruce a questioning look, which sent the doctor into a frustrating position.

"I'm in a loop! I'm caught in a time loop!" he exclaimed, "This is exactly where it all went wrong."

"I know. I know," Tony agreed, his tone gentle, "I know what everyone's gonna say. But they're already saying it," he placed his hand on Bruce's shoulder, "We're mad scientists. We're monsters, buddy. We've gotta own it. Make a stand."

Primrose approached the two, "I don't think you're monsters but the mad scientists part? I agree," she quipped, trying to diffuse the tension. She couldn't bear to hear her dad down talk himself like that, and Bruce didn't deserve any of it either. If they were going along with it and be hated by the rest of the team, then she wanted to be next to them, not on the other side. No matter what, she will always be on her dad's side.

She managed to get a smile from both of them, and her kiss placed his hand on her head, ruffling it slightly before looking at Bruce again, who was biting his lower lip with contemplation while shaking his head, trying to mentally refuse it.

"It's not a loop," Tony insisted, still holding a softer tone, "It's the end of the line," he stated as he looked down at Primrose, who was giving him hopeful eyes. Silently begging him to make everything right again and be sure about what he was about to do.

"Please, Dad" she whispered desperately, and he hushed her gently, assuring her.

One hour had passed since Bruce had given in. She stayed back, watching the two work together to upload JARVIS into the synthetic body. Primrose had said her goodbyes already, thanking him for watching over her and promising him she'd try to bring his memories back once he's in that body. JARVIS promised as well that, if he could, he would try to remember her. Even if it would be just a distant one. He told her he loved her, and that it was an honor watching her grow up.

There were tears of course, but Primrose had calmed down as she watched the two.

"This framework is not compatible," she heard her dad tell Bruce.

"The genetic coding tower is at ninety-seven percent," Bruce warned, as he looked at Tony before placing his hand on the Cradle, "You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes."

Primrose frowned, this all sounded too tense. Then she gasped when Steve made himself present by drawing a heavy footstep, what surprised her the most was that the Maximoff twins were standing right behind him, looking at them with wary expressions while Wanda had her arms wrapped around Pietro's arm.

"Mr. Rogers? Are you okay?" Primrose asked nervously, thinking he was under Wanda's spell. Talking made the twins look at her, and they both looked surprised to see a child in the room.

"I'm fine, Prim," Steve said with a nod before glaring at Tony, "I'm only gonna say this once," he warned with a scowl.

Primrose quickly frowned and thought about what to do next, this was definitely not going to end up well.

"How about 'non-once'," Tony snarked at him.

"Shut it down!" Steve ordered.

"Please, wait–" Primrose tried as she approached them, she was doing her best to keep things civil.

Tony quickly noticed her and raised his arm at her, silently telling her to stay where she was, further from the group, when she nodded at him and obeyed his request, her dad looked back at the blonde, "Nope, not gonna happen," he stubbornly retorted before making his way towards to the Cradle.

"You don't know what you're doing," Steve insisted.

"And you do?" Bruce questioned with a dark tone, implying that Steve might be bewitched because of Wanda's presence – after all, he was still resentful towards her for what Wanda did in Africa.

Primrose looked at her and squinted her eyes, "Did you do something to him, again?" her tone had no malice, but Primrose couldn't help but ask.

Wanda silently shook her head, denying it. It seemed like she wanted to say something else, but her lips remained shut.

"She's not in your head?" Bruce asked again, his hands trembling from anger as he glared at the witch.

"I know you're angry," Wanda tried, but Bruce cut her instantly.

"No, we're way past that. I can choke the life out of you and never change a shade," he stated darkly.

Even Primrose got scared at that one, she never imagined Bruce telling that to someone. Wanda really messed up. She seemed hurt by his comment, but Primrose couldn't still sympathize with her, she was on Bruce's side here. Even if they were on the Avengers' side, trying to stop Ultron, the two still committed awful acts towards her family – and forgetting that was not an option.

Steve stepped closer to the doctor, still trying to insist, "Banner, after everything that's happ–"

"It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Primrose looked at her dad as he suddenly exclaimed from where he was.

"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda retorted with a desperate tone.

As Primrose looked back at her, she noticed her brother roll his eyes, as if he was bored with the argument that was forming. She scowled at him, how can he find the whole ordeal a nuisance?

"This isn't a game!" As Steve talked, Pietro grew tired and flashed himself around the Cradle in milliseconds, unplugging everything and shutting it down with his enhanced speed.

Primrose covered her mouth and stared at it, shocked to what he just did, "Not good," she mumbled as she worriedly felt the tension in the room grow.

"No, no. Go on," Pietro stated with a mocking tone as he tossed aside one of the plugs without care, "You were saying?" he asked as he looked at Tony with a challenging look.

Suddenly, the glassed floor under him shattered when someone shot through it from the floor below – Primrose gasped and stepped back as Wanda ran forward, screaming his name.

As the dust settled, her dad turned towards the screens controlling Cradle as if nothing had happened, "I'm rerouting the upload."

Primrose looked at Steve to see his reaction and saw that he was about to throw his shield, "Steve, no!" she yelled, not using the formality anymore because of the situation.

The shield ricochetted everywhere, harming the Cradle further and to her shock, like he knew this was about to happen, her dad had an Iron Man glove on that he used to send a beam towards the Captain.

"STOP!" Primrose begged, having flashbacks of her dad and Rhodey fighting at the party, "Please!" she suddenly squealed when she felt her body hovering, looking down she saw a dark-red mist carrying her quickly and hiding her underneath a desk, protecting her. She looked at Wanda with widened eyes and saw the nineteen-year-old looking back, with fear in her eyes.

Primrose then looked at her dad and saw him call the rest of his armor as Steve recovered from being hit by the beam, she saw Wanda about to use her powers on him when Bruce showed up from behind her to headlock her, "Go ahead, piss me off!" he whispered in her ear with a taunting tone.

Primrose whined, crawling back out of her safe spot, "STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY!" she screamed, but everyone ignored her. This was getting out of hand, this is exactly what Ultron wanted!

"Prim! Duck!" Clint ordered as he walked up the stairs, he had been concerned over her as soon as the sudden fight began, but Primrose didn't obey him.

She looked at her dad and Steve and saw that they were in the middle of their fight. As the Iron Man's torso part was forming, Steve got up and was about to punch him right in the chest, but her dad quickly used the smalls rockets attached to his back and arc reactor to flung himself away from the Captain.

"Dad!" she screamed fearfully as he hit one of the glassed windows, shattering it completely. She ran to him and knelt to check on his face, he seemed angry but as soon as he saw her his expression was of guilt.

"Go hide!" he exclaimed before standing up again, but before he could run back to Steve and continue their fight, everyone noticed Thor running around the corner and then land on top of the Cradle with a determined expression.

They watched as the God called upon his thunders by raising Mjolnir towards the ceiling.

"Wait!" Bruce yelled.

Tony quickly shielded Primrose from any possible explosion as he realized what Thor was about to do. They all watched as the blonde transferred all of the lightning he had managed into the Cradle, giving it electricity and making it function without being plugged in.

When Thor stopped, it was a little anti-climatic how nothing happened at first. Everyone was just catching their breaths and staring at the Cradle, waiting for a monster to pop out. Primrose managed to get off from her dad's holding and stared wide-widened at the scene, hoping that her dad and Bruce was right and that Thor's actions had been the evidence.

Then it happened, something struggled so harshly inside the Cradle that it smashed it's container door completely, causing a small explosion that sent Thor flying towards the lower floor and losing grip of his hammer. Tony quickly pulled Primrose behind him, and she didn't mind that at all.

From inside, showing up swiftly and elegantly through a heavy fog. Its synthetic, vibranium made body was shaped like a male, the android had a bright red face and body, while green also covered parts of it. Smog was coming out of him as he raised his head to look at his surroundings, Primrose noticed the yellow stone again – what was that? She wanted to know.

Everyone was wary and ready to fight against it as the android stood up slowly. Primrose saw it look around, at each person's face present in the room, with a nervous and agitated expression. It seems for her, that he was confused and trying to figure out what was happening as well.

The android suddenly landed his eyes on Thor and stared. Then, out of nowhere, he flung himself at the God with seemingly the intent to attack him, but Thor's fast reflexes made him grab hold of its arms and toss him away from him. Primrose stayed behind as everyone quickly followed the android, who was now floating in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and fascinated with the city's landscape and lights.

She slowly followed them, still not sure about this. Primrose quickly made her way next to her dad as she saw Steve hopping from floor to another, ready to attack – but Thor quickly raised an arm at him, giving him a silent order for him to halt.

The android was reaching his arms towards the city as if he could feel each person's lives with it. Then, Primrose watched him form a green suit covering his body – that was impressive. He did that without even blinking, or could he even blink? This android seemed to be calmed down as he approached Thor while hovering in the air.

"I'm sorry that was odd."

It spoke, and to Primrose's shock, it was JARVIS's voice.

"Thank you," he told Thor with a nod.

There was an awkward silence between the two before the android glanced at Thor's red cape and quickly copied one for himself. At that notion, Primrose had to smile – he was so new. Did he want to impress him?

"Thor?" Steve called out, "You helped create this?" his accusatory tone made Primrose roll her eyes. Everything was fine now and if this android was evil like Ultron then why was it having a decent conversation and just standing there?

"I've had a vision," Thor began explaining as Primrose saw her dad walk away from her to step closer and pay better attention., "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center is that," he continued while pointing at the yellow gem attached to the android's forehead.

"What? The gem?" Bruce questioned quickly.

"It's the Mind Stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones," Thor explained further, "The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities."

"Then why would you bring–" Steve began, but Thor cut him.

"Because Stark is right," the God stated.

"Oh, it's definitely the end of times," Bruce quipped.

"I resent that!" Primrose exclaimed.

Thor then quickly looked at her, she wasn't expecting him to do that and gasped slightly, "I apologize for what I did to your father, Primrose, I hope you ever forgive me."

Primrose looked at him and smiled sadly, "I forgive you Thor, but you owe me one. Because I was ready to hate you for the rest of your Asgardian life," she was kidding. Being mad at Thor was like being mad at a golden retriever after it chewed on your slippers – after seeing those puppy eyes, everything was forgotten.

Thor smiled at her before looking at the team again, "The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron."

"Not alone," the android added.

"Uhm, question!" Feeling much calmer not that she knew he was on their side, Primrose strolled a little to the middle and placed her hands on her hips while looking at Thor, "Why does your Vision sound like my JARVIS?"

The Vision looked at her with an amused smile.

"We reconfigured JARVIS's matrix, to create something new," her dad explained out loud as he and Vision met halfway, seemed to be fascinated with each other.

"I think I've had my fill of new," Steve commented dryly.

As Primrose stepped back to give the team some space, she noticed that the twins had been quiet most of the team, clinging to each other and giving off a protective aura around them. It was clear how much they cared about each other, and Primrose couldn't help but feel for them, they must be so confused. First, they trusted Ultron, and Primrose was still unaware of what happened in Seoul for them to change teams but it was terrible enough for them to switch. Now they were in the presence of what Ultron wanted to achieve, something that they tried to stop along with Steve – so Primrose couldn't blame them for feeling so wary of Vision.

"You think I'm a child of Ultron," the android stated towards Steve with a smile.

"You're not?"

"I'm not Ultron," he said calmly, "I'm not JARVIS," he continued, breaking Primrose's heart again even though she had been expecting this, "I am I am."

"I looked in your head and saw annihilation," Wanda suddenly said as she approached him with a wary expression.

"Look again," Vision insisted.

"Her seal of approval means jack to me," Clint said with an annoyed expression as he approached them, it was obvious he still had ill feelings towards her as well.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself – they all came from the Mind Stone. And they're nothing compared to what it can unleash!" Thor told them urgently.

"The Tesseract?" Primrose mumbled out, "The stone was inside of it? That means I was right, Loki was being controlled by it three years ago!" she raised her voice as her thoughts cleared out in her mind.

Bringing up Loki's name made Thor frown, but he managed to nod at her, "Aye."

"But everything is okay now, right? It–I mean, he, is on our side, right?" she looked up at Vision expectantly, and the android gave her a surprised look.

"Is it?" Steve ruefully asked before looking at the android, "Are you? On our side?"

Everyone stared at him, waiting for his answer with tension in the air.

The Vision seemed hesitant before responding, "I don't think it's that simple."

"Well, it better get real simple real soon," Steve threatened.

At that, Primrose rolled her eyes. Why did he sometimes have to be so pushy? How could he want the android to be on their side if he was threatening him? Sometimes, Primrose thought that Steve needed to chill and put aside his Captain America side for a moment before speaking.

"I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't," Vision told everyone, "He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" Tony asked.

"You."

"Where?"

"Sokovia," Clint informed them, "He's got Nat there, too."

Primrose smiled with relief, Natasha was alive and well!

Bruce approached Vision with a cautious expression, "If we're wrong about you – if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be"

"What will you do?" Vision asked him quietly, but not in a threatening way.

That silenced Bruce, and the rest of the team seemed to have realized that they had no option but to trust Vision because even if they were wrong, they wouldn't be able to defeat Ultron and Vision if they formed forces together – this was a leap of faith that they had to take.

"I don't want to kill Ultron," the android admitted, "He's unique and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So he must be destroyed," Primrose thought now, how almost sad Ultron was. If only he didn't have murderous tendencies, maybe they could've helped Ultron realize how good sometimes mankind could be and try to help him understand his purpose in the world. But that was impossible – Ultron had to be destroyed, "Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others," Vision stated, and for a reason, Primrose saw his eyes fall on her with intention within them. Did he mean something with that?

"Maybe I am a monster," Vision continued as he looked at himself, "I don't think I'd know if I was one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended," he turned around to look at something, "So, there may be no way to make you trust me," And Primrose almost screamed right there when Vision literally reached for Mjolnir and grabbed it easily, reaching the arm wielding it towards Thor for the God to grab it, "But we need to go."

Everyone stared at the exchange with dumbfounded expressions as Thor was frozen in place. He grabbed hold on the handler, almost scared he couldn't grab his hammer after Vision did, and when the android let go of it, he looked at his teammates with an equally lost and confused expression.

But at least everyone got the evidence they needed to trust Vision.

And seconds after Vision left, Primrose laughed.


	38. Walk It Off - Age of Ultron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for not updating the story for 2 weeks. I had some author's block, was tired from working and the news that Tom Holland is no longer part of the MCU as Spider-Man took away any motivation for me to write.
> 
> I don't know if it's official, I keep hearing rumors that Sony and Marvel might have another meeting to try and make it work, but this emotionally drained me.
> 
> I decided to keep writing this story with Tom Holland as the Spider-Man, and if he is truly taken out of the MCU I will find a way for him to still STAY IN THE MCU. At least in my story.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> PS: I know you guys really wanna see Primrose hold Mjolnir but as cool as that sounds, I wanna be realistic here and tell you that it's not going to happen in this chapter. There is no opportunity and Thor is always using his loyal hammer in the Sokovia Battle. I won't promise it to happen because I don't wanna risk Primrose becoming a Mary Sue here. I just want the plot to come out naturally, I have the future planned but I want to get you guys by surprise!
> 
> But hey, she's going to have a lot of action in this chapter. But as I said, I suck at writing fighting scenes.

Steve told everyone to suit up quickly and Primrose knew exactly what to do now, she needed to tell her dad about her Extremis if she was going to help them. Because there was no way she was staying behind while everyone went to Sokovia, she was not going to take no for an answer this time.

While the team scattered to go suit up, Primrose ran to her bedroom and changed her outfit to something she wouldn't care losing if her Extremis burned through it while using it during the fight. She opted with a pair of black leggings and a gold-colored tunic dress with short-sleeves that reached just slightly above her knees. Then she just changed her socks and put on a pair of Adidas sneakers and let her hair hairstyled with the ponytail she did back at Clint's farmhouse.

She looked at her body mirror inside her walk-in closet and began breathing heavily, Primrose was starting to have doubts about telling her dad and possibly the team about her secretive training with Hanae, and that she wanted to keep her Extremis. She leveled her hands to her chest, the veins across her arms and hands began shining crimson as she summoned two lava-looking fireballs on each of her palms, and she stared, evaluating herself – feeling powerful by being able to control it so well. It was when her brown eyes began shining red when she decided to stop and grin as she returned to normal.

Primrose had gained all the confidence she needed.

She left her bedroom in search of her dad, but after returning to the level where the team was suiting up, she found the Maximoff twins instead. Pietro was just about done putting his new shirt on when Wanda noticed her walking towards them.

Primrose stopped walking and stared, without knowing what to say. She wanted to thank Wanda for trying to protect her but at the same time, she still remembered what she did to Bruce. Primrose was in a dilemma about the twins. She didn't know if she still resented them, it was all very awkward still.

"You don't have to say anything, if you don't want to," Wanda suddenly told her, using a soft tone not to startle the girl too much. The things she did filled her with guilt. Now that she has seen Primrose, Stark's daughter, all Wanda could think is that she almost made this girl fatherless because of an action that Stark did not do.

Pietro stared at Primrose with curious eyes, "You're Stark's daughter, yes?" he knew he had a kid, Pietro read the papers and saw the news on crappy televisions. He envied her, and when Pietro was younger all he wanted was to make Primrose suffer like he did when he lost his parents – but now everything has changed. Stark is not guilty, Ultron used him and his sister to try and destroy the whole world and Primrose, she was so tiny.

She nodded quickly, "Yes. My name is Primrose, you can call me Prim."

He smirked, "You're daddy's little girl, yes?"

Frowning, Primrose gave him a challenging look, "So what if I am?" she stated confidently, "I love my dad."

Pietro nodded, "Nothing wrong with that, especially now that I know that it wasn't him launching those missiles on our town."

Well, that was awkward, but she didn't falter at his statement, "Ultron was using you, I'm glad you two realized that before it was too late," Primrose sighed, thinking about the days Obadiah used her dad to sell Stark weapons to the wrong people, ending up causing the death of many innocents.

The twins seemed to have absorbed her words, silently agreeing with her.

"How old are you anyway? Eight?" Pietro suddenly asked with a tone that held teasing.

"I'm thirteen!" Primrose immediately retorted, feeling slightly insulted.

Pietro snickered because her answer didn't faze him at all. He still thought she was too young to be here, "You're still a baby."

Wanda, who had been silently watching them talk, squinted her eyes at the teen and looked her up and down, "You..." she gasped softly, "You have something inside of your body, in your veins"

Feeling creeped out, Primrose instantly covered her body with her hands and gave Wanda a startled look, "W-What?!"

Wanda looked visibly upset, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! But it's so bright and vibrant, it was picked up right away."

Pietro tensed, using his speed to advance near his sister and stand next to her protectively, "It's true, sometimes my sister can't control it," he defended her.

"Oh okay," Primrose mumbled, calmly, "You can see my Extremis?" albeit weirded out, she couldn't help but look in awe at Wanda, "What else can you do?"

"I can take it out of you if you want me too. It seems dangerous," Wanda offered.

"No thanks, I want to keep it. It's one of the reasons why I wanted to see my dad. Do you guys know where he is?" she asked, feeling slightly anxious about Wanda being able to easily take her Extremis away. If everything goes sour and her dad finds out about this, she knows he will immediately tell Wanda to do it – Primrose hoped the witch knew how to keep a secret.

Pietro shrugged uncaringly, "I don't know, somewhere,"

"That's helpful," Primrose deadpanned dryly.

He simply winked at her and vanished out of the room, using his enhanced speed. Wanda began following him, still staring at her.

"I won't tell him," the brunette told her earnestly, reading Primrose's mind, "But you should."

Primrose bit back a snarky remark about how it was none of Wanda's business, but the education her parents gave her allowed Wanda to leave the room without having to hear the rude statement Primrose wanted to throw at her.

Alone in the room, and still affected by meeting the twins, Primrose began making her way to find her dad again when a female robotic voice stopped her.

_"Hello, Prim! Boss is waiting for you by the deck!"_

She halted her steps and closed her eyes with a pained expression – that was not JARVIS.

"Who are you?" she hesitantly asked.

_"My name is FRIDAY! Your dad just put me online, it's nice to meet you!"_ FRIDAY cheerfully greeted her.

Sighing, Primrose couldn't help but smile a little as she made her way to where her dad was, "I guess it's nice to meet you too, FRIDAY. Welcome to the family."

_"Oh! Thank you..."_  FRIDAY replied, her tone first surprised, and then filled with gratefulness.

* * *

When she found her dad, he was talking with Bruce and Steve, all of them carried tense expressions. When Tony saw her, he managed to give his daughter a small smile before taking her hand and holding it, keeping her close to him. Even when they were both in the same building, he felt anxious about not having her within his eyesight. Until this Ultron mess was resolved Tony could not rest.

"If even one tin soldier is left standing, we've lost," Tony continued as Primrose frowned, "There's gonna be blood on the floor."

"I got no plans for tomorrow night," Steve quipped.

"I get first crack at the big guy. Iron Man's the one he's waiting for," her dad continued, and Primrose's stomach dropped at his statement. She needed to tell him, now.

"That's true. He hates you the most," Vision suddenly states as he walked past them.

Tony gave him a look while Primrose tried not to smile, she appreciated Vision's quipping input because now she was slightly calmer. She took a deep breath and tugged on her dad's hand to get his attention.

"Dad? Can I talk to you?"

Steve looked at them and looked confusedly at Bruce, who shrugged.

"Prim, we don't have a lot of time. I need to take you to your mom's and–"

"It's urgent," Primrose cut him in, panicking slightly, "Please..." she begged.

"Uh, we–uh, well, Steve and I will go ahead and wait for you Tony," Bruce quickly said, sensing that Primrose really needed to talk with her dad.

Steve, feeling slightly awkward, nodded, "Yeah, just hurry up please."

Tony nodded at both of them and followed Primrose when she walked towards one of his dens in the floor. She walked in, pacing fast, and Tony was now growing worried about what Primrose wanted to tell him. He closed the door behind them and turned to his daughter, who had her back turned at him.

"What's up, honey?" he asked gently, starting to feel anxious. He has never seen Primrose this serious before.

Sighing deeply, Primrose now knew that she couldn't make an excuse for this and give up. It was now or never, "Dad, remember that vaccine you and Bruce did to make my Extremis dormant?"

Tony now wished he had his scotch with him because he didn't like the way where this was going, "Yes?"

Primrose took another deep breath before turning to face him, and Tony's face paled at the sight of his little girl's arms beginning to turn with the familiar bright red with orange hues spreading all over her veins. Primrose wanted him to see how stable she was, so before he could react she spoke again.

"I can control it now," she stated, "It came back months ago, and I've been training with it–"

"T-Training..." Tony drawled with a terrified voice, "With who?!" he exclaimed. If anyone from the team knew about this and dared to keep it from him, they were going to suffer his wrath.

Primrose's eyes widened and she immediately answered, "No one from the team, trust me. If they knew I don't think they would've kept it as a secret," she mumbled.

"Primrose Maria Evans-Stark! How dare you keep this from me! You could've died–STOP IT! GO BACK TO NORMAL!" he adverted his eyes from her skin.

Upset, and offended, Primrose ignored his request, "No! Look at me dad, I can control it! Look!" she formed a scalding, red liquid within her hands and set it on fire, creating a fireball with lava on its inside, "It's easier now! And it doesn't overheat my body, not anymore! Remember what Killian said?" Primrose ignored the look her dad gave her when she mentioned her kidnapper, "He said that my blood is compatible with the Extremis! I mean, even Bruce said it! He took blood samples of me, and turned them into vaccines that actually healed rats and re-grew their limbs! Can't you see that maybe, if I have proper training–"

"What?" Tony cut her, squinting his eyes at her as he approached her, "That you turn into an Avenger? That you want to create a vaccine that can help the world? Hm? You wanna be a target, is that it? What do you think it will happen as soon as everyone in this world knows about what your blood can do? Hm?" his voice was quiet but Primrose has never seen her dad so angry at her before.

"Dad..." she didn't know what to say.

"I can't–" chocking, Tony suddenly closed his eyes as his breathing began to increase rapidly, "I can't lose you. I can't, I can't–" Primrose made her fireball disappear and her body return to normal as she approached her dad, meeting him halfway the office, "You're my everything, Primrose. This is bad. This is everything I wanted to avoid for you."

"Dad, calm down breathe, please," Primrose sniffed, holding back her tears. She hated seeing her dad like this, and now she was started to regret telling him because she had been the reason why he was in this state of panic, "Dad, I'm sorry but I'm not changing my mind about this. All I ask is that you give me a chance."

Tony looked at her, a sad expression on his face, "You're only thirteen..."

"I'm also capable of walking through fire and melting metal," she quipped weakly, managing to make him smile a little.

There was a pause between them, and Primrose was scared of what he was about to say next.

"Does your mom knows about this?"

"No."

"Anyone on the team?"

"No."

Tony pursed his lips, "...Hanae?"

Primrose nodded slowly, "I trained on her roof when I went to her sleepovers. Sorry, dad..."

Tony let out an exhale through his nostrils and shook his head with a knowing smile on his face, "You really are a Stark, oh God I need to have a talk with that friend of yours" watching her dad's mind work on what he was going to do was something Primrose was anxious for, "Look, this changes everything. We don't have the time to talk about it, but I will let you come with us–"

Primrose instantly grinned, "Thank–"

" _If!_ " he quickly interrupted her celebration, "If, you stay in the Quinjet. Then, if things go sour, you can show me what you have learned and explored from your Extremis. But only if, you understand me, young lady? The probabilities of you getting out of that Quinjet will be of one percent, go it?" his tone was final and serious, and Primrose knew that disobeying him would not be an option.

She hugged him, and Tony instantly wrapped his arms around her frame, bringing her closer to him, "Thank you, dad!"

"Don't thank me, I'm gonna regret this. And if the team doesn't kill me, your mom will," Tony grumbled, still hesitant about bringing his daughter along.

* * *

**May 6th  
Location: Sokovia**

It was safe to say that the team wasn't pleased with Tony when he decided to allow Primrose to come. Even the twins were confused about it because they always thought she was one of them – especially Wanda ever since she saw the Extremis on the teen's veins.

Tony, already used with getting dirty looks, was only relieved he hadn't told Emma that he was taking Primrose to her. The pregnant woman was already stressing enough about not being able to see her daughter for days, so Tony thought she didn't need any more stress on her mind and simply told her that everything was going to be solved today.

Or at least, he hoped.

"Ultron knows we're coming," Steve began as the Quinjet approached Sokovia, the team was near him, listening to the Captain's motivation speech for those who were about to go into battle. Primrose was sitting next to her dad, eyeing her palms with a serious expression, "Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for," For closure, Steve looked at Primrose with a frown, "But the people of Sokovia, they didn't."

Primrose reached for an earpiece and placed it on her ear, she would be listening to everyone from the Quinjet.

"So our priority is getting them out," Steve stated as he looked at Pietro and Wanda with pointed looks. They knew what they had to do, "All they want is to live their lives in peace. And that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff," Primrose nodded, eyeing Bruce, "and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us," Steve paused, his expression became solemn, "Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world," glancing at Bruce, Primrose realized Steve was partially talking about him, "This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."

"He isn't," Primrose quickly stated. Her dad and Steve looked at her, "Ultron is either right or wrong. He just doesn't know better, so what do you do when your computer freezes? You press the re-start button. That's his idea of a better world, a planet with no life."

Everyone seemed to be taken in her words, and Vision was the one to approach her with a small smile on his face.

"Isn't it fascinating? Such a shame though, without realizing it, Ultron has become Earth's number one enemy," the android told her, and Primrose nodded whilst avoiding looking at him. She still wasn't used to hearing JARVIS but not seeing him in front of her.

"Well, if Ultron wasn't a stubborn mule like my dad we might've changed his mind. But it's too late now, isn't it?" Primrose sighed, rubbing her wrist as she looked at her dad.

He smiled sadly and nodded.

When the Quinjet landed, the team immediately dispersed into their positions. Pietro was going to alert the police station and bring in some of their force for help, Wanda was going to use her powers to manipulate the citizen's minds to help them evacuate the city as fast as they could, but without any panic. Clint was standing in a tall building, watching the evacuation with his bow and arrow ready – he had a quick conversation with Primrose before he left, telling her to stay in the damn Quinjet or else she couldn't go visit his family anymore as a punishment. Primrose knew he wasn't serious but she played along.

The Quinjet was hidden behind a building falling apart, behind her was only a vast forest. She could hear the team's voices on her earpiece and she would attentively hear what was happening throughout the minutes.

She was upset she couldn't help more, even in the evacuation. But it was lucky that she was even here, so Primrose didn't want to push her dad's wrong buttons and go out just because of her curiosity.

"FRIDAY? Where's my dad?" she asked her bracelet because even that has been updated and now FRIDAY had completely replaced JARVIS in it.

_"He's currently on his way to the Church, where Ultron is."_

At FRIDAY's answers, Primrose rose from her seat and opened the back of the Quinjet by pressing the right button. The skies were covered with pink and orange, she smiled sadly at how beautiful it looked, it was like she could forget what was about to happen. Primrose walked out of the Quinjet and looked around, there was no one in sight. Good.

She made her way around the building that was hiding the Quinjet, sticking close to the wall, she leaned her head in to peek around the corner and saw a group of people, families even, walking away with scared expressions. It seems that the evacuation was going smoothly.

She was about to go back when two metallic and cold hands grabbed her ankle, she screamed and jumped back and watched with a shocked look on her face as one of Ultron's suits made its way out of the ground, crawling menacingly towards her.

"Zombie suit!" she squealed before using her Extremis to shoot a quick fireball towards its head. The lava left from the ball melted through the helmet, making the suit glitch and twitch disgustingly before it stopped as its lights flickered, and then shut down completely.

_"What was that?"_ Steve said through the earpiece.

_"Prim! You okay?!"_  her dad's alarmed voice followed.

"Uh– There was a–AAH!" screaming when more suits started to pop out from the ground, Primrose began shooting even more of her lava-covered fireballs at them, "Bots are coming out of the ground!"

_"What are you doing out of the Quinjet?!"_  Tony yelled, Primrose noted that he sounded like he was fighting as well.

"I only stepped out for a moment! Fresh air means something to you?!" she retorted, "Oh sh–" from her peripheral vision, she saw a suit coming at her from the sky and she only had time to dive out of its way, into the ground, "Dammit! They're everywhere, I can't go back!" she told them before getting up and running for her life.

_"Come to the bridge, Wanda and I are here!"_  Clint suddenly told her, " _You're near, just follow the screaming and panicked citizens!"_

"Very funny," Primrose mumbled as she obeyed. Her dad was going to kill her so what she had to fear?

_"Barton you better watch over her!"_  Tony barked as he huffed, seemingly busy as well.

Primrose rolled her eyes, "That's it!" as she took on some speed thanks to her Extremis, the brunette was clear on where Clint and Wanda were. The archer was busy keeping the suits from climbing into the bridge and Wanda was in front of the citizens, acting as a shield as she used her magic to create one. It seems that some of the suits had guns with them. She frowned as she approached the gap that the bridge was built for, and trusting her newfound abilities, she decided to pick up her speed and jump.

And she did. High.

Clint's eyes widened as he stopped recharging his arrows to look in awe as Primrose passed above him and Wanda stilled her breathing when Primrose was nearing the floor, she almost wanted to safely make the girl land by using her powers but she needed to keep the shield up. Her worries were forgotten when Primrose landed with a crouched position, unharmed. She was now standing between the army of suits with the guns and Wanda. Turning towards them, Primrose mustered the Extremis towards her chest, feeling it getting warm and then hotter – and then she recalled what she did in that cell, what she did to that man – it spread to her neck, and she could feel the veins around her body concentrating enough Extremis to turn red and when a suit was about to shoot her, she opened her mouth and a jet of lava came out fully aiming at the group of Ultron suits. They all dropped their guns as their armor began melting and then one by one, they began dropping with heavy thuds on the ground, their lights turning off with weak flickers.

When it was over, she stopped the shooting the Extremis through her mouth and glared at the melting suits with her usually brown eyes covered with glowing red, signalizing that she was ready to use her Extremis again. Turning towards Clint and Wanda, the expressions on their faces almost made her laugh. They looked almost afraid of her, so she decided to make an old Stark move.

"Pardon me, that was rude," she cleared her throat, "So, what's next?"

"Remind me not get on your bad side," Clint muttered as he quickly accepted what just happen, because why not? Anything was possible at this point. Norse Gods, giant whales, aliens! Teen girls that vomited lava!

"Go, get off the bridge!" Wanda told the citizens as they began running, Clint and Primrose made their way towards her.

"Is Ultron off the net, yet?" Primrose asked Clint.

"Yeah, Vision did it. Just got the message," the arched nodded.

Suddenly, the ground began shaking as Primrose felt tremors around the city. She had to balance herself for a moment to not fall, "W-What's going on?! Dad?"

_"Ultron activated something, it's lifting the city into the air!"_  he explained quickly.

Primrose covered her mouth as fear took over her eyes as the ground kept shaking even harder, she squealed as she fell on her knees when Sokovia started to move upwards. Clint quickly helped her up and looked around, thinking about the next move.

_"Do you see the beauty of it?"_ Primrose turned her head to see one of his suits hovering near them, looking down as Ultron communicated through it,  _"The inevitability. You rise, only to fall. You, Avengers, are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword. And the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me,"_  Clint quickly guided Primrose to the car that Wanda was holding on to as the ground kept shaking, when she was secured, he quickly shot an arrow at the head of the talking suit, but another one behind it quickly took its place as Ultron continued giving his speech,  _"It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."_

"Oh, shut up!" Primrose growled out as she shot a fireball at the suit's head, melting it completely before it fell hard on the ground, "I hate him so much!" she exclaimed, "Who does he think he is?! Dad, what's happening? And don't sugarcoat it, please," Primrose asked as Wanda and Clint attentively listened in.

_"The vibranium Ultron stole was for this! The core has a magnetic field and it's what's keeping this rock together!"_  FRIDAY told her instead with an urgent tone.

_"If it drops?"_  she heard her dad ask.

_"Right now the impact would kill thousands. Once it gets high enough, global extinction,"_  she explained with a somber tone.

"Oh my God," Primrose paled as she looked around, "Dad, where are you?!"

_"Trying to fix this. I'm sorry, I should've never brought you along,"_  he told her with an angry tone, but Primrose knew it wasn't directed at her.

"It's not your fault dad, but we can talk about this later. When we win. Meantime, you got this. Trust me to protect myself," she told him solemnly.

_"I will–Cap! You got incoming!"_

Through the earpiece, Primrose heard Steve's groaning.

_"Incoming already came..."_ the soldier told him,  _"Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt..."_

Primrose huffed when she and Wanda used their singular abilities to kill two Ultron suits at the same time: Wanda from the inside and Primrose with a blunt fireball straight into its helmet.

_"...hurt them back. You get killed, walk it off."_

"Oh, great," Primrose mumbled as she blasted her Extremis at another suit. As it fell, she saw a woman trip over debris and fall on the ground, "Wanda!" the brunette alerted the witch, and Wanda quickly followed Primrose's nod towards the woman and instantly ran towards her, helping her up and guiding her to safety as Clint and Primrose tried to take down as many suits as they could.

When the woman was safe, Wanda returned to help them. She was able to toss a suit out of her away with her magic but even though they took down a lot of them, it seems that there was always more coming out of nowhere, and it was becoming overwhelming for the three of them. Just when a trio of suits was about to unleash various gunshots on them, Primrose saw the archer running towards her and Wanda.

"Go, go, go!" Clint exclaimed before he tackled the two through a window, shattering it completely, into a shack and dodging death by something heavy that had fallen on the area they once stood, causing an explosion when it destroyed a car.

Primrose was alarmed at first, and with Wanda's help the two crawled towards the wall, Clint leaning next to the window to shoot any possible suits from coming in. The thirteen-year-old noticed Wanda's breathing was frantic, she was scared, and if Primrose was being honest with herself – she was started to fear for her life as well.

"How could I let this happen?" Primrose heard Wanda whine.

"Hey, hey, you guys okay?" Clint asked with a fatherly tone.

"Wanda? Breathe, just breathe..." Primrose calmly told her as she grabbed onto her shoulder to keep her balanced. She knew a panic attack when it was in front of her, seeing her dad and even herself having them had given Primrose that ability.

"This is all our fault..." Wanda cried with a guilt-filled voice.

Clint and Primrose shared a worried look before the archer gently placed his hand on the Sokovian's other shoulder, "Hey, look at me! It's your fault, it's everyone's fault. Who cares? Are you up for this?" he asked quickly, also glancing at Primrose, "Are you?" he repeated, looking back at the witch as Wanda tried to control her breathing, "Look, I just need to know. Because the city is-is flying," he deadpanned.

"Yeah, a city is flying," Primrose whined, wiping some of her sweat from her forehead. She couldn't believe the situation she was in right now and if she survives this Primrose is certain her mom was gonna kill both her and her dad.

Clint nodded, agreeing with her, "Okay. Look, the city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, a thirteen-year-old can shoot lava from her mouth and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense," Clint told them, but still staring at Wanda with a determined expression.

Suddenly, one of the bots shot at them through the wall from behind them, leaving holes in it. Primrose gasped as she ducked down in time, hearing Wanda's surprise exclaim as well. Clint was also shocked but his agent instincts made him react instantly as he shot an arrow through one of the holes left by the gunshot, from outside, Primrose heard a bot getting destroyed.

Immediately after, Clint carried on with his speech as if nothing happened, "But I'm going back out there because it's my job. Okay? And I can't do my job and babysit," he glanced between Wanda and Primrose with a stern look, "It doesn't matter how old you are, or what you did or what you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill," Clint told them pointedly, and Primrose gulped dryly, "Stay in here, you're good. I'll send your brother to come and find you two," Clint looked up at Primrose, "I'll tell him to take you two back to the Quinjet."

Pursing her lips at that idea, it was clear that Primrose was hesitant of agreeing with Clint but wanting to stay as well. She wanted to prove herself that she was capable of fighting, that she could make her dad and the team proud. That she wasn't a liability, something that held them back because she was too weak to vent for herself – no, Primrose wanted to be next to her dad in the future. Not behind him, sheltered and guarded like a fragile thing.

"But if you step out that door, you are an Avenger."

Primrose's eyes widened at his statement, could it be that easy?

"And no–Prim, get that idea out of your head. I was talking to Wanda on the last part," Clint quickly told her with a small smirk as Primrose's hopeful expression deflated into a frown.

Even Wanda chuckled a little at that, feeling better after Clint's speech and the little bantering. It seems that the Avengers enjoying doing it a lot during their fighting.

"All right. Good chat," Clint said as he stood to his feet. Wanda and Primrose watched as she grabbed more arrows from his boot, preparing them on his bow as he stood in front of the door, "Yeah, the city is flying," he took a deep breath, giving the two girls one last look before he kicked the door open and stepped outside into battle.

Primrose stood as well, but Wanda grabbed her leg, "No–it's too dangerous. You cannot go, you are too young to die!" she pleaded.

Smiling sadly at the nineteen-year-old, Primrose mustered all the strength to talk to her without her voice quivering, "They need us. I know it's scary, but I've seen my dad almost die so many times, I've been kidnapped, tortured, experimented on and I have gone through therapy to help me cope. The only thing that keeps me happy is my family, friends and the team. And now that I can help them, I can't stand aside and let them disappear" as gently as she could, she beckoned Wanda to rise to her feet as well by pulling her up, "You suffered as well, you were used. Doesn't that give you the urge to kick some robot metallic ass?"

Wanda has manipulated Bruce, she made the whole team see their nightmares and made them feel the fear from the dark secrets they wanted to keep deep inside of them, and when she did that, Primrose saw an evil witch who had no consideration of others. But now, she saw a scared young woman, filled with guilt and remorse over her actions. Primrose still wanted Wanda to redeem herself, it wasn't like she was fully forgiven, but this wasn't the time to start arguments. It was the time to fight for their lives and encourage her to use her magic to help defeat Ultron, together, as a team.

"But what if we lose?" Wanda asked with a sad frown.

"Then, just as Steve said," she grabbed her hand and squeezed it, "We'll lose together."

That was all it took for a sense of purpose expression settle on Wanda's face. Primrose doesn't know how long the two have been inside that little shack, but she hoped Clint was still alive when they both opened the door and walked out. Side by side, Wanda shot one of her psionic energy balls towards a group of robots to her right, without even sparing them a glance, then, with her psionic energy inside of the one that wasn't destroyed instantly, she manipulated it to split the robot in half from its inside, in mid-air, throwing the torso of that robot towards one that was about to attack Clint, who was hiding behind a car and shot two arrows at the same time as two robots approached him.

Primrose emerged all the Extremis she could muster to shoot a jet of burning lava through her hands towards another group hovering nearby, spraying them all completely as they fell on the ground, hard and lifeless before even touching it. She saw Wanda use her kinetic to create a stronger energy ball and decided to shoot an Extremis fireball at the same time she did, towards a trio of robots ready to attack them. The trio was instantly melted down and short-circuited by the combination of the two energies, their robotic pieces falling on the ground, behind Clint.

The archer looked at the two with an impressed expression and nodded when they looked at him, both girls answering his speech. Primrose might not be an official Avenger, but Wanda now was. But either way, Primrose was helping and doing it successfully until now.

"Dad? I just kicked serious robot ass," Primrose told her earpiece.

_"I am both afraid and proud of that sentence. And watch your mouth or else Cap will scold you,"_  Tony quipped on her ear, clearly hiding his anxious tone.

_"Not the moment, Stark!"_  Steve exclaimed, his tone indicated he was busy fighting for his life.

Clint let Primrose finish before taking his turn to talk, "Okay, we're all clear here," he informed the team as he looked around.

_"We are not clear! We are not very clear!"_  Steve repeated with the same tone before, and Primrose frowned with a worried look on her face.

"All right, coming to you," Clint told him.

Primrose was ready for another fight, she was feeling confident and managing well with her Extremis so far. Wanda also seemed braver and ready to face more danger, and that's all they needed to at least try and win this.

Pietro suddenly showed up out of nowhere, grabbing his sister bridal style, "Keep up old man! Good luck daddy's girl!" the silver-head teased before he vanished out of the area with his enhanced speed.

Both Primrose and Clint were slightly shocked by what just happened, but she quickly saw an annoyed expression fill Clint's face as he quickly prepared an arrow and aimed it towards where Pietro had run off with Wanda.

"Nobody would know," he gritted through his teeth.

Primrose held a snicker, "I would, but since I like you, I won't tell."

"Atta girl," Clint said before nodding at the street where the dust that Pietro left behind was still settling, the two began running, "'The last Prim and I saw him, an Ultron was sitting on him. Yeah, he'll be missed, that quick little bastard. I miss him already.'" Clint continued his imaginative argument as Primrose tried not to laugh while avoiding tripping on the debris while running.

"'He was so young so quick-witted too'..." Primrose added in, humoring Clint as he grinned.

* * *

Primrose separated from Clint but she knew he was still nearby, she could see Steve and Natasha fighting together, Wanda and Pietro taking care of a group of Ultron robots with the Sokovian police nearby. She used her newly enhanced speed to run towards Steve and Natasha, she was so glad to see her safe but her eyes widened when a half-destroyed robot, maybe one that they thought it was already taken care of, was about to attack Natasha from behind without her knowledge – so Primrose stopped running and quickly aimed an Extremis fireball at the head of the robot, just before Natasha noticed it.

Both Steve and Natasha watched with shocked expressions as the robot's pieces started to melt, and when it fell, they saw Primrose with her arm still aiming at where once it had stood – her visible veins bright orange and her irises covered with the red virus, making her look intimidating as she carried a scowl.

"What the hell? Prim?!" Natasha exclaimed as the thirteen-year-old dropped her focused expression and began running towards her, because now that the wave calmed down Primrose found the opportunity to hug Natasha.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" she cried as the agent wrapped her arms around the girl as well.

Even though she was stunned, Natasha slowly hugged the girl back, "Prim what are you doing here?" she sighed as she glanced towards Steve, who instantly walked away to avoid any confrontations about Tony's own decisions, "You shouldn't be here, this is too dangerous."

Breaking the hug, Primrose stepped back to look at her properly, "You just saw me shoot a lava jet towards a robot," she deadpanned with a grin.

Natasha wanted to argue, even though she needed to have a serious talk with Tony about him allowing Primrose to be here and keeping the fact (as in, if he knew) that Primrose's Extremis was back, Natasha knew Primrose was right, "I always knew you were a fighter, but this is extreme."

"No, this is Extremis," Primrose corrected as she created a fireball on her hand and looked at it with pride, "My Extremis."

After their reunion, there was no time to spare. Primrose and Natasha quickly helped Steve bring any citizen they could find inside a cafe that was still intact. During the rescue, Primrose asked Natasha were Bruce was, and she told that that Hulk was somewhere, helping around. Primrose wasn't dumb, she knew that Natasha probably brought Hulk back on purpose, because Bruce didn't seem keen on bringing the Big Guy back again so soon.

The air was dusty and everything was calm, too calm. Primrose knew that chaos would return in the form of more Ultron robots, that would be round two. She imagined her dad, somewhere down there, trying to come up with a solution to bring the city back down in a safe manner. Her heart ached.

As she helped a mother and her son inside, Primrose couldn't help but feel terrible about them. The boy couldn't be older than ten years old, and yet he was already going through a traumatic event. Primrose only hoped that the death toll wouldn't be too large, and even though that was the naive side of her thinking that, there was no shame in wanting everyone down there to be safe.

Minutes after making sure at least near a hundred people were inside, Steve began contacting her dad and Primrose listened closely with her earpiece.

"The next wave is gonna hit any minute. What do you got, Stark?" he asked after helping an elder man climb the stairs into the cafe.

_"Well, nothing great."_

Primrose closed her eyes, cringing. That's not what she wanted to hear from her dad.

_"Maybe a way to blow up the city,"_  Tony said with a resigned tone, knowing that Primrose was in the said city he was planning to blow up,  _"That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear."_

Steve saw through his tone and glanced conspicuously at Primrose, who was looking ahead of her, watching the city fly higher than the clouds with a neutral expression, "Stark, I know you have a lot to lose here. But I asked for a solution, not an escape plan."

Cold as it may sound, Primrose agreed with Steve, "Dad, listen to Cap and forget I'm here for a moment," she said to her earpiece with a wavering tone, she tried to focus on the billions of people they were trying to save.

Steve looked at her with a somber expression, he hated that she was here. Part of him was furious at Tony for allowing his daughter to come along, enhanced or not, she was too young to fight. And even though he witnessed what she could do (he would later have to ask Tony what the hell Primrose had) Steve wished she would've stayed in New York, safe with her mother. But you can't change the past, if Steve could he wouldn't be here.

The team heard Tony sigh tiredly, not up to arguing with his daughter, _"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're gonna have to make a choice."_ But Tony damned that. He would grab Primrose and fly away with her if he had to, there was no way he was letting his daughter die like this, as selfish as it sounded he would do it.

"Cap, these people are going nowhere," Natasha said as he looked around with a solemn expression.

Primrose frowned, watching even more citizens appearing from the smog caused by the dust, running inside the cafe with scared expressions. She approached the redhead and the blonde and stood next to Natasha as they talked with each other.

"If Stark finds a way to blow up this rock–"

"Not till everyone is safe," Steve cut her.

Primrose looked at him and smiled a little.

However, Natasha seemed surprised at his statement, "Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there."

"I hate math," Primrose sighed, looking into the horizon as the sun started to peek above the clouds.

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it," Steve insisted.

"I didn't say we should leave," Natasha retorted, smiling sadly when Steve looked at her, realizing what she meant, "There's worst ways to go," keeping her tone of voice optimistic, she looked at the horizon as well, "Where else I am gonna get a view like this?"

Primrose agreed with her, albeit feeling terrified of dying like this, she at least had the view. Being above the clouds with the sun shining brightly reminded Primrose of all the plane traveling she had since she could remember. The memories of her flying from California to New York were now bittersweet since her home in Malibu had been destroyed, but they were still memories she would always cherish. Primrose was scared of dying, she was terrified – but good at keeping it together for the sake of everyone. The Avengers were here to destroy Ultron, not to babysit her. It was just like Clint had told her and Wanda back in the shack.

She needed to fight to kill, for the entire world.

"If I had my sketchbook with me..." Primrose wondered out loud. It's been a while since she sketched, being busy with training and school had put her artistic side on hold, but she missed it, "When I get back home, I'll start drawing again," she looked at Steve and Natasha with teary eyes, grinning sadly. None of them knew if that was going to happen, but it was nice hearing it.

_"Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better,"_  Primrose's eyes widened at the familiar voice on her earpiece,  _"And Prim since you wanna go back home and draw so much, you better draw me as a cool pirate."_

"Mr. Fury!" Primrose instantly squealed, jumping down from the debris childishly before standing onto the floor under it with a grin on her face.

In front of them, the same Helicarrier from three years ago emerged from the clouds in its massive glory, sparking the attention of the team and Sokovians alike.

_"Nice, right? Pulled out of mothballs with a couple of old friends,"_  Fury explained with a smug tone,  _"She's dusty but she'll do."_

"Fury, you son of a bitch," Steve stated with a respectful tone.

"Wow!" Primrose gasped.

_"Uh-uh... you kiss your mother with that mouth?"_  Fury quipped.

The Helicarrier disengaged the lifeboats, and as they approached the flying city, Pietro showed up in front of them, next to Primrose, with his amazing speed, "This is SHIELD?" he asked in awe, smiling.

"This is what SHIELD is supposed to be," Steve told him earnestly.

Primrose liked the look on Pietro's face, he looked genuinely happy that his people were about to be saved, "This is not so bad," he chuckled.

"Hell yeah, it's not!" Primrose cheered, high-fiving Pietro when he complied into it.

Steve pursed his lips and refrained from telling her to watch her language as Natasha glanced at him with amused eyes, expectant that he would.

"Let's load 'em up!" Steve ordered before running towards the cafe where the citizens were.

As soon as the lifeboats were safely parked by the edge of the rock they immediately started bringing civilians into them as some agents helped as well, Steve supplied the information necessary to them, explaining roughly how many people they had.

As Primrose was on the bridge, helping people in, she noticed some Ultron robots making their way to the Helicarrier. She was worried for a moment, but then a familiar silver armor appeared from inside the flying ship and a grin plastered on her lips.

War Machine flew above them, shooting at the ill-intent robots, "Yes! Now, this is gonna be a good story!" she heard Rhodey say to himself with a smug tone.

She was watching him, and when Rhodey almost got hit by a bogey behind him, Iron Man showed up and shot a beam at it, leaving it to explode, "Yup. If you live to tell it," Tony quipped at him, happy to see his friend.

"You think I can't hold my own?" Rhodey challenged.

"We get through this, I'll hold your own," Tony retorted.

"You had to make it weird," Rhodey sighed, "By the way man, mind explaining what the hell is Prim doing in here?" Rhodey asked with a passive-aggressive voice as he and Tony shot a few robots in their way, "Emma is furious with you, you don't wanna make a pregnant woman mad, just sayin'."

"Yeah well, if I survive this I can survive her."

In the city, on the bridge where she and Natasha were helping the citizens inside the lifeboats, Primrose suddenly felt something grab her ankle and try to drag her down with it towards the edge.

_"You... Stark's daughter... you're supposed to not be shooting fire from your hands,"_  Ultron said through the mangled robot. She glared at it and kicked the helmet with her free leg.

"And you're not supposed to be the bad guy," she growled, backing away from the mangled robot as it recovered, crawling towards her again.

_"Me? The bad guy? No... you have it wrong. But you're just a child, so you wouldn't understand,"_  Ultron told her in a patronizing manner, his voice deformed from the broken voice box that the robot carried.

The distortion of it made it even creepier for Primrose, but she stood her ground and managed to concentrate enough Extremis energy between her two hands to create a bigger fireball than the ones the normally did.

"Oh yeah? Understand this, Pinocchio," before the robot could advance towards her, she shot the Extremis energy-filled fireball at it, leaving a jet of fire behind it as it hit the robot right on the head, tossing it back as well because of the sudden, blunt force, and making it hit the rails of the broken bridge, "That's for Sokovia!" she yelled at him.

To her surprise, as the helmet melted and the lights flickered, Ultron still spoke in a distorted manner, "p...i...no..cc...h.i..o...t-t...hat's..f-f...u..nny."

And then he was gone, at least on this robot. Had this been a personal attack? An attempt to take her down? If it was, then Primrose smugly thought how weak it had been. She returned to her place, and Natasha was gone. Looking around the crowd of people running to get inside the lifeboat, Steve seemed to have disappeared as well.

"Where are you guys?" she asked on her earpiece, but realized it was turned off, "What the–?" she pressed the button, turning it on again, and heard various voices.

_"Rhodey get the rest of the people on board and keep Primrose that carrier and take Prim with you,"_  she heard her dad order.

She frowned, hiding behind a car. No way, she wasn't leaving them now.

"On it," Rhodey said.

She realized her dad must've hacked into her earpiece and turned it off for her not to hear that part and complain about it, call it luck or misfortune, but Primrose heard it. And she was not letting Rhodey take her to the carrier. It was stupid of her to keep fighting, especially now that the battle was at its peak and things could get seriously dangerous, but she wanted to prove to everyone what she was capable of even if she has to do  _that_.

Making her way out of the bridge, Primrose blended with the panicked crowd as she made her way to find where everyone was. She looked up at the sky and saw many Ultron robots going in one direction, so she deduced that where they were going is where their enemy was.

_"Avengers, time to work for a living!"_ she heard her dad said through the earpiece.

Primrose parted her way from the crowd, into the cafe where they were once taking shelter. She carefully but swiftly walked across it, jumping over a table that was in her way (and enjoying the feeling of finally being free to use her new enhancements), and then making her way to the back entrance of the establishment to a deserted back alley. She looked up, trying to see if any robot would fly by and when nothing was on her sight, she quickly ran down the alley as fast as she could, surprising herself to how fast her legs were being. Primrose wasn't as fast as Pietro, but no normal human being could run like this, she was sure of it.

When she was at the end of the alley, she rested against the dirty wall and took a deep breath, cleaning her sweaty forehead again before leaning her head around the corner and peeking at the street where the alley lead. Destroyed cars, debris all over the streets and road, smashed windows and fallen signs – but no sign of robots. She began running down the street, remembering when she escaped Hanae's house – and cringing at the memory. She had been so reckless back then, and Primrose was mature enough to know she was being reckless right now, but she honestly didn't care. She wanted to help.

_"Romanoff? You and Banner better not be playing 'hide the Zucchini',"_  she heard her dad state with a mildly serious tone through her earpiece.

_"Relax, shellhead. Not all of us can fly,"_  Natasha's voice retorted, and Primrose could see the smirk on her lips.

Where were they?!

She heard Ultron robots approaching by flight and took refuge inside a clothing shop, she hid behind the wall right next by the entrance and her eyes closed with annoyance when she heard at least one of the robots land on the road right in front of the store. Thinking quickly, she crouched down and rolled herself behind a group of mannequins. When she stood up again, the mannequins hiding her as the robot walked inside the store, she frowned at a bright pink dress that also had green flowers plastered all over it – not a good fashion choice, in her opinion.

Paying attention to the robot, she forged a plan quickly.

_"Primrose, I know you're in here. Come out, I would never kill a child,"_  Ultron purred through the robot.

Robot Ultron looked around, unbeknown that behind his back, one of the mannequin dolls was now naked. He looked around once more, his eyes scanning the store for any human heat, when suddenly as he turned back a very ugly pink dress was thrown in his face, blocking the view, and a determined grunt was heard as Primrose jumped on him, putting both of her palms on each side of the robot's helmet while it struggled to take the dress out of his eyes.

"Honestly Ultron, pink isn't your color," she snarked at him before pressing her hands together, trying to squeeze the helmet while using her Extremis to melt through it and even though the robot struggled, she didn't stop until the dress caught on fire when both her hands touched each other inside the robot's helmed. She could feel the wiring electrocuting her, but the Extremis was already healing her skin as she jumped away from it. Watching her dad work in the lab as given Primrose vague teaching of when his creations go wrong and seeing the robot getting all twisty and glitching as its lights flickered faster each second made her realize what was about to happen.

She ran out of the store as fast as she could and took cover behind a car parked on the opposite street's curb. Three seconds later, the robot exploded inside the store, starting a fire at the same time.

Huffing and resting her forehead against the car's window, she smiled to herself, trying to calm her heart, "Pink was definitely not his color."

_"Uh, Tones? I can't find Prim,"_  she heard Rhodey suddenly announce as she began running again, following the line of Ultron robots hopefully to where the team was.

"What?! Romanoff told me she stayed on the bridge, helping citizens inside the lifeboats!"

She hated making her dad feel like this but she had a strange feeling in her gut to keep searching for them. As she jogged down the street, Primrose suddenly remembered where they might be, "FRIDAY?" she called out as a stopped running and looked around, "Where is the drill that Ultron built, with the button that will bring the city down?"

_"In the Church, right in the middle of Sokovia. You're three minutes away from it, just keeping running straight ahead and then turn on your first left!"_  FRIDAY informed her with an urgent tone,  _"Prim, you should go back. Your dad is worried about you."_

Primrose was surprised at how humane FRIDAY sounded, she certainly had more emotion in her voice. JARVIS was known to throw a few quips and sarcastic retorts, but he was also caring. FRIDAY however, seemed to be more genuine with her feelings. Her dad was truly amazing.

"I'll be fine, thanks for the help," Primrose told her shortly before starting to run faster.

As she turned left she noticed Natasha coming out of a yellow construction truck, plowing some of the Ultron robots before parking by the curb, Primrose followed her and found everyone in a circle, inside the church where the core was and she realized that if Ultron gets to it the city will go down. Primrose made the final decision to run towards them and make herself present.

"PRIMROSE?!" her dad's anxious voice exclaimed from inside his helmet.

The whole team looked at her with shock, she was supposed to be with Rhodey on a lifeboat, not here where it was going to get even more dangerous.

"Dad, I'm sorry! Trust me, okay?!" she told him earnestly before giving the team a serious expression, "I can do this. Just ask Mr. Barton and Wanda!"

"You–" her dad approached her to scold her, but when Hulk landed behind her, destroying two robots on his way, Ultron himself was flying behind him, staring down at the team.

Primrose turned around and glared at him, and she let Natasha pull her backward for her to stay behind her dad and the redhead agent herself as they all looked up at Ultron. Thor glanced at Primrose before scowling deeply at the insane robot.

"Is that the best you can do?!" the Norse God yelled.

Tony's stomach fell when, to his horror, an army of robots controlled by Ultron was summoned by him. Primrose sighed and closed her eyes, contemplating her life choices.

Steve looked at Thor with an exasperated look, "You had to ask," he deadpanned.

_"This is the best I can do,"_ Ultron began as he pointed at the group,  _"This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me,"_  Primrose felt Clint standing next to her, she was now surrounded by her dad, Natasha and him,  _"How can you possibly hope to stop me?"_

"Well, like the old man said" Tony and Steve shared a look, "Together."

Hulk growled loudly, signalizing the beginning of the battle. Primrose got ready, summoning as much as Extremis as she could onto her hands, ready to strike as well. The robots came charging in with the intention of killing and some began flying as well.

"Okay honey, show me what you got and if you die you're grounded!" Tony exclaimed before shooting two beams at incoming bots.

Primrose shot an Extremis fireball up at one of the bots trying to reach for the core and destroyed its head completely, it was absolute chaos. Primrose felt like the bots were annoying flies that just kept spawning, but she watched the Avengers fight to keep the bots away. She used her consistent fireballs on any bot that crossed away, she then shot from projectile lava from her mouth when both her hands were busy but at least she got a group of them melting on the ground because of it.

Primrose saw Wanda use her kinetic energy to destroy the robots from inside, and she would also create psionic force-fields around the core each time one of the robots that slipped past them was about to touch it.

She would also occasionally see Pietro running around, destroying bots at an amazing speed.

She saw Iron Man flying in circles around the church and destroying any bot in his way, Steve was using his shield and fists with full strength, Clint was admirably shooting his arrows and never missing his target as usual and Natasha electrified each bot she encounters after taking them down with her swift skills and gunshots. Primrose was fighting with them, but she couldn't help to tear up at the amazing teamwork being displayed right in front of her – this is the Avengers the world didn't get to see, this was her family.

Hulk seemed to be having the time of his life as he smashed each bot that dared to approach his large, green figure. He even bit one of their heads and spit it out like it was nothing. Primrose was reminded of the 'whack-a-mole' game when she watched him fight for a brief second before blasting an Extremis energy ball at a bot running towards her.

Tony was always shooting robots that got near his daughter as well, he couldn't help but glance at her as she fought and he had to admit that the movements that his daughter was making, plus the way she was using the Extremis, made him both impressed and terrified. He kept thinking that if she uses it too much, she might overheat – but she seemed to be handling her own, at least for now.

Ultron and Vision fought above, and as Primrose blasted another bot in the air, she saw Vision fire a beam from his gem at Ultron, knocking him back outside. Thor noticed what Vision was doing so did her dad, she saw them with amazement in her eyes as the three combined their energy resources: Thor with his lightning, Vision with his gem and her dad with his unibeam from his repulsors – all those three energies being shot at Ultron simultaneously. Their combined attack ripping apart Ultron until they stopped firing.

Ultron stood, weaker and powerless, in front of the team as everyone took care of the remaining bots from the church.

"You know, with the benefit of hindsight–" Hulk cut Ultron's sentence when he punched him with such strength that he was tossed away at great altitude.

Hulk then turned towards a small group of bots, and as soon as he did, they all ran away, trying to escape since the original Ultron was gone. Hulk, of course, went after them instantly.

"They're trying to leave the city!" Thor warned them.

"We can't let them. Not a single one!" Tony told everyone, "Rhodey!"

_"I'm on it,"_ War Machine told him.

Primrose remembered what her dad said: if even one of them is still standing they would lose. She saw Vision fly away towards the sky, possibly to go help Rhodey destroy any bot that tries to leave. She turned back inside the church, nearing the team to know what was the next move.

"We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin," Steve told them, and now that he mentioned, Primrose has been feeling a little out of breath for a few moments now, "You guys get to the boats. I'll sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you."

"What about the core?" Clint asked.

"I'll protect it," Wanda stated quickly.

Clint and Primrose gave her a surprised look, but Wanda looked back determined, "It's my job."

She received a praising nod from Clint and a smile from Primrose.

"Nat? This way, you too Prim, come on," the archer stated, about to take the two to the boats.

Steve quickly left, he had to to a quick sweeping before leaving for the boats.

"Be careful Wanda!" Primrose said before she ran after Clint and Natasha.

Wanda nodded as she gave Primrose a gentle gaze. She won't forget how Primrose talked into becoming an Avenger. She has hurt her so much of her family and the teen still managed to give her a lifting talk. Wanda was not going to let anything happen to her, she wanted to do the correct thing and apologize after Ultron was taken care of, she wanted to be a proper Avenger.

* * *

Primrose sat in the back of a car as Natasha sat in the front while Clint drove it, avoiding the debris and chatting amicably with his best friend. Primrose was resting back on her seat, enjoying the quiet moment while it lasted as she heard them.

"I know what I need to do. The dining room. If I knock out that east wall, it'd make a nice workplace for Laura, huh?" Clint told Natasha conversationally.

Primrose never expected Clint to be the builder type of dad. She could already imagine him making a treehouse for Cooper and Lila, or making a swing set out of rope and a tire.

"Put up some baffling. She can't hear the kids running around. What do you think?" he asked the redhead while dodging other cars and debris.

Primrose wasn't scared of his fast driving, she has been inside a car with her dad behind the wheel and if she can trust his driving skills, she can handle Clint's. Even when he made a turn close to a cliff she didn't bat an eye, she found their conversation more interesting.

"You guys always eat in the kitchen anyway," Natasha told him.

"No one eats in a dining room," the arched stated.

"That's true," Primrose nodded. At her mom's, Primrose and Emma usually ate in the kitchen, by the island, and at the tower, it was the same thing, only sometimes she took her food to the living room and ate by the coffee table while sitting on the carpet, on the floor, while watching television.

"See?" Clint said as he stopped the car next to a lifeboat.

Just as he did, an apartment building not to far away from them seemed to be about to collapse, Primrose watched with concerned eyes as Sokovian citizens were guided inside the lifeboat by Fury's agents.

Clint and Natasha shared a look, the air was getting thinner and as the city kept flying upwards the more buildings around the city threatened to fall.

"We don't have a lot of time," Clint told the two, glancing at Primrose momentarily. He said this because Natasha still needed to go calm down the Hulk and bring Bruce into the lifeboat as well, and Primrose was worried if the redhead had enough time to do that.

"So get your asses on a boat," Natasha stated casually before opening her door and leave to go find the Big Guy.

"Come on, Prim," Clint called her, "I'm not gonna open the door for you," he quipped quickly before opening his door.

She rolled her eyes and hopped out of the convertible, landing next to Clint with a challenging look. He arched his eyebrow as the two began walking towards the lifeboat.

"Don't become a show-off," he mumbled, making Primrose smile.

As they stepped inside the boat, Primrose sighed with relief and quickly took a seat while Clint remaining standing. She looked around and saw many scared-looking citizens. Some held on to their loved ones tightly, or looked relieved to be saved – some even didn't try to hide their tears and emotional distress. They lost everything. Their houses, their belongings, and their safety all in a manner of hours. Primrose frowned sadly at the thought that some of these people probably lost family and friends today.

Darkly, she thought about how much Ultron needed to suffer for this. Who does he think he is? Ultron thought he was good enough to decide the fate of humanity, what type of monster acts like that? No one has that right. Earth doesn't belong to anyone, she and the rest of the world just lived in it.

Primrose jumped when Clint suddenly placed a hand over her head, she looked up at him and saw him smile tightly as if he could read her thoughts and was trying to comfort her. Sighing, she leaned into his palm as he began to gently ruffle her already messy hair.

"You did well, kid. You can rest now."

His words almost made her tear up, perhaps now that the adrenaline she began feeling exhausted. She hasn't seen her mom since Ultron happened and all she wanted to do right now was hug her and feel her arms around her, holding her safely.

"Costel!"

Both Clint and Primrose turned their head to a blonde woman, bleeding from her forehead as she looked around pleadingly, "We were in the market," she cried, "Costel!"

Primrose looked at Clint when he stepped away from her, he seemed to be looking around until his eyes locked onto something not so far away, on fallen debris. She stood as well, squinting her eyes in the direction he was staring at and she gasped when she spotted the boy, Costel, struggling underneath the debris.

"I'll go get him, stay here."

Without waiting for her reply, Clint went off to go get the boy and Primrose watched him closely, afraid that something might happen right when they were both safe.

And of course, hear fear had to become real when suddenly a Quinjet started to fly over the street where Steve and Thor were, raining down hell in the form of a machine gun – coming straight towards Clint and the little boy he was now carrying. Primrose's first instincts were to run at them, so she did, without a plan in her head and without any way of getting to them on time.

She screamed and stopped, covering her eyes, when the Quinjet fired on Clint and the kid, leaving the dust to settle. Frozen and scared, Primrose took her hands off her face and continued running, praying to whoever was hearing her for Clint to be alive. However as she approached the zone, with Steve running towards it as well, she saw a car that hadn't been there before, and that had blocked the bullets from hitting the archer and the kid.

And to her shock, Pietro, with his torso covered with bullet holes on critical areas, looking behind the car at who Primrose realized was Clint, smiling weakly.

"You didn't see that coming..." the nineteen-year-old drawled his quip before falling heavily on the ground.

"Pietro!" Primrose screamed, "No, no, no..." approaching them quickly, Primose gasped when she felt a pulse of energy, Wanda's psionic energy, coming from the church. She wasn't sure how she felt it, maybe it had to do with her Extremis, but Primrose was sure that the pulse was Wanda's reaction to her twin brother's possible death, it was so raw and powerful – her powers were what probably allowed Wanda to feel her brother's pain.

Clint placed the injured boy gently on the floor before quickly hovering Pietro, checking his pulse as Steve came into a halt next to them. The archer looked up at Steve with widened eyes.

"It's weak, but it's there," Clint stated, and without wasting time, he lifted Pietro, using his strength to carry him as best as he could, "Prim?"

"On it!" Primrose didn't need to be told twice as she walked towards the little boy, her enhanced ability allowing her to pull the kid from the ground into her arms, carrying him bridal style, "Hi, you must be Costel, I'm Prim, you're safe now," she whispered at him before following Clint back to the lifeboat.

When they got there, Clint placed Pietro gently on the floor and as soon as Primrose was within the view of the mother, she began crying with relief and quickly reached with her arms for her son. Primrose smiled and gladly placed the boy back into his mom's arms, both crying for each other as the blonde woman held Costel tightly. Primrose didn't stick around too long to watch the emotional reunion, she marched straight to Pietro as Clint assessed his own injuries.

She kneeled next to the silver-head, and gently placed her fingers on his neck to see if he still had a pulse, to her relief it was still there, but very weak. She scanned his bullet holes, feeling slightly squeamish with all the blood but trying to push that feeling down for the sake of her mental health, "We need to take him back to the tower," she began telling Clint as he lied down on the seats above Pietro and her after dismissing a paramedic, "I think I can help him."

"How?" Clint asked her, grunting as his back hit the seats.

She thought momentarily before speaking, "My blood has healing capabilities. Dr. Banner hasn't tried it on humans before, but a vaccine made entirely out of my blood was able to cure rats – maybe if I..." she looked around for something sharp.

"Your blood did what?" Clint asked weakly, more mumbling it to himself as he looked at Pietro with newfound feelings towards the young man. Pietro had been a pain in his ass, calling him an old man and being a little shit to everyone – but the boy had a good heart, and he just saved his life. If there was a way to save him, Clint was on board for it, "What are you doing?"

"Looking for something sharp!"

Clint stared at her, she mentioned her blood being able to heal and now she was looking for something sharp? "Oh boy, I might regret this but here," he took one of his arrows, stocked away inside his boot, and handed it to her, "Be. Careful." he warned, watching her with a look of a father about to let his kid do something stupid.

Primrose nodded as she grabbed the arrow, and with its sharp end, she prickled her finger, wincing as stabbed herself deeper, and when a stream of blood started to pour out, she took the arrow from her skin and quickly started to let her blood drop inside as many bullet holes as she could, "I can't see the bullets," she commented as her blood tainted with the Extremis began acting instantly upon touching Pietro's skin. The noise it made sounded like frizzling, and Primrose was concerned for a moment that it was burning Pietro. But when she looked at the holes that her blood had touched, she gasped when they began molding together.

"They must have gone through him," Clint's eyes widened at the sight of Pietro's melted flesh and covering the holes from inside. He had seen a lot of shit during his years as a SHIELD agent but this was the freakiest and kind of coolest thing he ever witnessed, "Shit, Prim, check his pulse again."

Still startled by what her blood was doing, Prim obeyed silently and pressed her fingers on Pietro's neck, right above his veins, "I think it's working," she had no idea how to properly check someone's pulse, but she did feel the veins connected to his hurt bumping a little stronger than before, "Holy shit!" she exclaimed, realizing what she had done, "I can't believe that worked!"

_"Language!"_ she heard her dad scold from her earpiece, making Clint guffaw,  _"And what worked?"_

"Pietro's alive!" Primrose didn't want to go into details, "Wanda, do you copy?" she wanted her to know her brother was still alive, just imagining someone lost their twin – her only family still alive – was enough for Primrose's heart to break, "Wanda?"

Her earpiece must've stopped working because of the sudden energy pulse Wanda let out earlier.

Before anything could happen, Primrose heard something shift within the city. Her eyes widened when she looked at Steve, the only person outside of the lifeboat, they both looked at each other before she screamed.

"JUMP!"

And he did, just in time before the city dropped hauntingly fast.

Ultron got to the core. Her dad, Thor, and Wanda were still in there.

Where was Natasha? Where's Hulk?

Primrose placed her earpiece closer to her ear, listening to her dad.

_"Thor, on my mark!"_

Primrose quickly crawled towards the edge of the lifeboat, looking down at the city that became a meteor about to destroy humanity, and her eyes were widened at how scary it would look if it was able to impact on the ground, with her dad still in it. She was safe up here, but the people she loved were down there.

_"Now!"_  her dad yelled.

Thunder and lightning came from above them, striking the middle of the city where the church was, and Primrose gasped when the hit caused the entire city to explode – destroying the meteor into smaller pieces that began falling on the lake under them.

"DAD!" she screamed, her tone of a child that was afraid that something bad happened to their parent.

There was silence for a moment, and Primrose kept her eyes down on the lake where the meteor pieces were now falling.

_"I'm okay!"_  she heard him grunt, the connection had a little static but hearing his voice confirming he was still alive made Primrose fall on her back with relief across her face. She heard Steve huff as well next to her and the two glanced at each other before smiling.

"Crazy son of a bitch!" Clint yelled, his mood now better.

Primrose chuckled, before pressing her earpiece again, "The rest of you better be okay as well..."

Tony and Primrose seemed to be inseparable once they were reunited on the Helicarrier. The billionaire got out of his almost destroyed suit and caught Primrose in a hug that she had already been preparing to give. They held each other for minutes, the people around them giving them space, without talking except for Tony whispering comforting words. They would talk, Tony needed to have a really serious conversation with his disobeying and courageous daughter.

* * *

**May 7th**

Turns out, everyone  _was_  okay, well, sort of.

Vision saved Wanda before the city's explosion, Thor survived the explosion by falling on the lake and Natasha had been inside the Helicarrier.

But Hulk and Bruce were gone. Natasha told the team with a strained tone of voice that the Hulk had jumped on the Quinjet that Ultron had gotten hold of, the one that almost killed Clint and Pietro, to take care of him but instead of coming back, he turned off the screen call and left the Quinjet on stealth mode – not allowing it to be tracked.

Primrose was confused to what led him to do this, but then she remembered what Wanda did to him. Maybe Bruce went stealth, to keep his promise to himself that he will never become an angry, green monster, for the good of the world. And that was completely stupid. Primrose wanted him back, he has been around her for three years and aside from Natasha, she was closer to him than to everyone on the team.

He helped her with the Extremis, he became her dad's close friend and lab partner – he didn't even say goodbye.

Primrose was hurt, but she hoped wherever he was, he was happy.

Pietro survived his wounds. As soon as they returned to the tower in New York, a team of medics took him to the medical wing and watched over his vitals and bullet wounds – they were confused to why almost all of them had scars that indicated healing for at least months but no one gave them a proper answer to protect Primrose's ability.

Wanda never left his side, and she vowed to Primrose to make up to her for saving her brother, her only family. Primrose had been startled when Wanda had pulled her into a tight hug, crying while thanking her in Sokovian (which later FRIDAY translated) and Primrose couldn't believe that it actually worked.

And she only used little of her blood. If she had used her vaccines that were currently stored in Bruce's lab Pietro might've walked it off just like Steve had ordered. Or his body could've rejected the Extremis and explode after overheating.

Primrose felt that she got really lucky with Pietro. This could've ended seriously bad. Luckily, it didn't. And even though Pietro was still unconscious, his body was recovering quickly thanks to his enhancement and the team didn't hold back when praising her for it.

She has killed two people in her life. One was accidental and the other to save Natasha, but saving Pietro's life made Primrose feel like she could fight against an army of bots again – only, she didn't want to.

Emma came to the tower right away when Rhodey told her they were back, as soon as she saw her daughter, the two held each other (Primrose being careful with her belly) and even though she wanted to yell at Tony for taking their daughter to Sokovia, Emma didn't find the strength. She was too relieved that Primrose and him – and the team – were all alive. She had been angry before, but after watching WHiH World News footage of the Battle of Sokovia and seeing all of that destruction she promised to herself if her baby girl came out of it alive she would hold back her anger and just be happy enough to have her back.

Primrose and Tony talked with her about the Extremis, and although Emma was hesitant on accepting that a virus was what allowed her daughter to fight for her life in Sokovia, she couldn't be too surprised when Tony said that Primrose was secretly training behind their backs – Primrose was just like her father and there was nothing they could do about it.

Well, Primrose was grounded. But what lesson could she learn with that?

The rest of the day went by quickly, due to Primrose falling asleep and resting for half a day and all night. The toll of fighting against Ultron got to her.

* * *

**May 8th**

The construction to turn a Stark Industries facility based in upstate New York into a New Avengers Facility.

Her dad explained that the project was created to be used for scientific research, military training, weapon development and training of the new Avengers and their recruits. The base was going to be run by Nick Fury, Helen Cho, Maria Hill, and Erik Selvig.

And Primrose, now fully rested and feeling much better, was excited about it. She instantly asked her dad if she could be trained as a recruit, and he quick to shut down that idea. He told that they still needed to talk about her Extremis and that if she thought she was now an Avenger, she thought wrong. Primrose was disappointed, but she saw it coming.

However, he did allow Natasha to train her, not only because Primrose kept on insisting but because it would worry him less if Primrose knew how to defend herself better. It would be easier for her to at least know the basics since Primrose held the brown belt in Karate, but Natasha told her that there were more ways of fighting other than Karate style. The training would begin when the facility was done being built.

After getting access to her phone, Primrose saw fifty unread messages from Harley, (plus eleven phone calls, and he never called), twelve unread texts from Hanae and twenty-seven missed calls from her mom. She showed her phone to her mom and Emma wasn't impressed as she recalled her anxious moment when Primrose would not pick up her phone.

Primrose sent a quick text to the Whatsapp group where Harley and Hanae were, explaining what happened, and she was immediately bombarded with their replies.

It was nice to be missed.

When she returned to school, almost everyone approached her quickly to ask what happened in Sokovia and if it wasn't for the faculty member's intervention Primrose had spent the rest of the day answering questions about the battle. Valeria seemed intrigued about what happened, but she was only glad that Primrose was back and well.

* * *

**May 12th**

Pietro woke up a day ago and even though he was advised to stay in bed he was already back to trotting around and "annoying" everyone with his rich personality. Wanda was always near him, scared that he might disappear but he assured her, always with a big smile, that he was fine.

Clint was, of course, teased by him.

"You don't need to thank me, old man, just name your baby after me and we're even." The silver-head smugly told him.

The archer might've acted like that was never going to happen, but he actually liked that idea.

He didn't hold back when it came to thanking Primrose, the swift runner was quick to glomp the teen and hug her closely, loudly announcing that he had adopted her as his sister, much to Primrose's amusement and feign complaints.

Tony was surprised to how well the twins and his daughter got along. A few days ago they hated him and now they were living with him, sharing communal areas and coexisting peacefully. He was glad they didn't resent him anymore, the twins were too young to hold on to anger and revenge for too long and Tony just wanted them to stay here, as recruits and part of the team.

He wanted to make up to them. Tony felt guilty that what he created had murdered the Maximoff's parents and taken everything away from them, and even though he wasn't to blame – it was still his fault, in an indirect way. Tony also knew that if he voiced this, his daughter would find a way to prove that he has no blame to take in what happened in Sokovia when the twins were only children, and that's what he loved about her, Primrose would always defend him no matter what.

* * *

**May 17th**

In a twisted turn of events, when Thor returned from London crestfallen after leaving to visit Jane, he didn't talk with anyone for a while. The team was worried and confused about why he looked so down and avoided speaking about his trip.

That was until Primrose approached him when she spotted him alone in the balcony, stargazing. Maybe it was because he was feeling melancholic or perhaps because he needed to vent, but he told her that Jane had ended the relationship.

Primrose felt saddened for him, but then awkward. She has never dated anyone and will not so soon, so she didn't know how to comfort the Thunder God. She ended up bringing him to the kitchen and offer him a gallon on ice cream with the idea of watching a horror movie.

It worked. They fell asleep on the couch and Tony found them in the morning, Thor's arm wrapped protectively around Primrose's shoulder as she used it as her pillow. He told FRIDAY to take a photo, and add it to the 'Family Moments' private folder he had stored.

* * *

**May 24th  
Sunday**

Clint showed Primrose the photo of his newborn son, born just two hours ago. Primrose immediately squealed and congratulated him, as the team did as well.

To say Pietro was floored when Clint told him his son's full name was Nathaniel Pietro Barton was putting it mildly. The silver head didn't think the archer would do it and that was the moment for Clint to smugly retort with 'Oh, you didn't see that coming?'

Clint told Pietro that Laura wanted to meet her husband's savior, and Wanda as well. And that they were invited for dinner, the twins were hesitant at first, foreign to being around a happy family for years. But eventually, both agreed. But not now, they wanted to stay and train for a while.

That day, while Primrose was drawing, Tony came into her room and had a deep conversation with her. He was thinking about retiring. Now with the fresh meat being trained to be part of the Avengers, he wanted to. Primrose told him whatever he does, she'll support him.

* * *

**May 28th**

With the New Avengers Facility now officially open, Clint finally returned to his family, now including his newborn son, who Primrose wanted to meet so badly. She couldn't wait for Terry to be here.

Her dad seemingly retired, and Primrose is still supportive of his idea, although she has a feeling it won't last long.

Bruce is still missing, it's been twenty-one days, and she has seen Natasha never giving up on trying to find him. It seems that whatever their relationship had grown to had affected her, she once said love was for children but Primrose was starting to wonder if Natasha still believed in that.

Emma let Primrose go with her dad to the New Avengers Facility, she was very curious about how it looked like finished.

It was nice seeing everyone again, Steve was now in charge of training the new Avengers, which consisted of Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, War Machine, and Vision. Primrose realized then that if she wanted to be part of the team, she needed a hero name. And at the moment, her creative mind surprisingly didn't help her.

"The rules have changed," Steve said as walked her, Tony and Thor out of the facility.

"We're dealing with something new," Tony commented.

"The Vision is artificial intelligence," Steve continued.

"A machine," the genius nodded.

"So, does it doesn't count?" Steve asked Thor, who was smiling amusedly.

Ever since the dispute to see who could lift Mjolnir, they have been discussing the possibilities of who or what could lift the hammer without being worthy. Primrose smiled as Steve and her dad casually discussed it in front of Thor, humoring him.

"No, it's not like a person lifting the hammer," Tony concluded.

"Right, different rules for us," Steve agreed as he gestured between him and the genius.

"Nice guy, but artificial," Tony concurred.

"Thank you."

"He can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone," Thor stated as he looked between Tony and Steve pointedly, "It's safe with the Vision. And these days, safe is in short supply.

There was a pregnant silence as they took in Thor's words seemingly with a serious mood, but then, Steve spoke.

"But if you put the hammer in an elevator"

"It would still go up!" Tony finished for him.

"Elevator's not worthy," the Captain sighed, shaking his head.

Primrose laughed and Steve suddenly gestured towards her, smirking at Thor, "But what about Prim?"

"What are you talking about? I wasn't able to lift it," Primrose quickly said, trying to sound casual.

"You know you could've, we all saw it and I'm still disappointed you hesitated. I could've started building a Stark Entreprises in Asgard," Tony jokingly scolded her.

Thor guffawed, "Primrose might as well be able to lift it, but if it is not her choice then maybe the timing isn't now," the blonde said with a wide grin, ruffling her head, "I'm gonna miss these little talks of ours," Thor began as he placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. He felt guilty about what he did to him, right in front of Primrose, and he was glad forgiveness had come his way.

"Not if you don't leave," Tony told him with pleading eyes. He was trying to hide it but he didn't want Thor to leave, he didn't want anyone getting separated again. Tony just wanted the Avengers to stay together as a family.

"I have no choice," Thor responded, his tone a little more serious than his previously lighter one. They continued walking as he began explaining why he needed to depart, "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. It's not a coincidence."

They exited the tunnel, and Primrose felt the fresh hair and the sun kiss her skin. Above them, army recruits were jogging together, training. They continued walking until they reached a patch of grass that surrounded the road where her dad parked the car in.

"Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us," Thor continued, and Primrose let her father put on his sunglasses before she reached for his hand, which he instantly took and squeezed to comfort her, "And once all these pieces are in position"

"Triple Yahtzee," her dad cut him quickly, not wanting Thor's words to scare Primrose (and himself) too much.

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked.

"I do," Thor replied with a nod, "Besides this one," the God said as he patted Tony's chest as a goodbye gesture, "there's nothing that can't be explained," he stated before ruffling Primrose's hair again.

He walked further away from the three as they stopped walking to watch Thor. The blonde stopped and turned towards them, nodding as his final goodbye.

"I'm gonna miss you, Thor," Primrose meekly said, hating that he was leaving.

"You'll see me again, Prim," with one last wink, Thor raised Mjolnir and called out the Bifrost, bright light with colorful rainbow reflections beamed from the clouds and took Thor with them, upward towards Asgard and leaving behind Asgardian symbols burned on the grass.

"Cool," Primrose stated as she inspected them for her own curiosity. There was so much she didn't know about Thor's culture, and she was starved for some information.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance," Her dad commented out loud, trying to sound outrageous. They turned around as he began to led them towards the car, with Steve walking by his side, "I'm gonna miss him, though."

"And you're gonna miss me," Steve said, joking a little bit but speaking from his heart at the same time.

"There's gonna be a lot of manful tears," her dad sighed as he unlocked the car.

Primrose rolled her eyes, 'manful' was unnecessary, she thinks men were allowed to cry as hard as they wanted.

"I will miss you, Tony," Steve told him earnestly.

"Yeah?" Tony wondered, "Well it's time for me to tap out," he retorted, bringing up his retirement without really mentioning it while Primrose saw the car, being controlled by FRIDAY, following them and stopping in front of the three, "Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book. Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up, spend more time with my kid," when he said the last part, Primrose felt the hand that she was holding squeeze hers tightly, she smiled up at him.

Steve smiled, wanting Tony to have everything he was listing, "Simple life."

"You'll get there one day," the genius stated solemnly, wanting his friend to also have a life outside of being just an Avenger.

"I don't know. Family, stability" the teen looked at Steve with a sad look as he spoke, "The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy years ago. I think someone else came out."

Her dad didn't say anything for a moment. Primrose let go of his hand when she felt that it was time to go, as she rounded the car to enter the passager's side as she heard her dad open his door. But before entering it, he turned to Steve again after taking in his words and feeling bad for the soldier out of time, "You all right?" he asked quietly.

The blonde looked around the facility and nodded, "I'm home."

"Are you gonna miss me, Steve?" Primrose asked shyly, using his first name experimentally.

The blonde didn't seem to mind as he nodded, "I'll miss you more than your dad," he said softly, making her smile.

"You heard that?" Primrose stuck her tongue to her dad before getting inside the car and closing the door after her.

Tony scoffed, feigning offense while Steve chuckled a little.

"You see that? It's gonna get worst, teenagers, amirite?" with one last playful glance towards Steve, Tony got inside his car and drove off, seeing Steve still waving at them through the rear-view mirror.

"We'll visit, right?" Primrose asked as she put on her seatbelt.

Tony exhaled through his nose and smiled, "Yeah, we will. But now, we gotta pick where we're going this summer."

"OH! Can we go to Portugal?" Primrose asked jubilantly.

"Sorry honey, somewhere in the country would be nice. Your mom's pregnant, remember?" he reminded her, enjoying her childish excitement while it lasted.

"Oh. Right. Then I'll research good vacation spots when we get home," she promising, looking out to the forest from her window with a grin.

He glanced at her, and a soft expression took over his face. If only she could stay a kid forever.


	39. Please StanBI For More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, sorry for not updating for 3 weeks. A lot happened! First, I was without wifi for a full week so that didn't allow me to write. Second, my new cousin was born and I absolutely love him. His name is Simão, which in English is Simon and he's the cutest.
> 
> Welcome Simon, this chapter is for you buddy.
> 
> (Sorry about the short chapter, I wanted to start working on 'Civil War' quickly)

**Saturday, July 18th, 2015**

**5:35 AM**

**Location: NewYork-Presbyterian, Queens**

Primrose's legs wouldn't stop shaking as she anxiously sat on a comfortable chair in the waiting room of the Mother-Baby Unit. She stared at the floor with a neutral expression, counting the tiles as a distraction, as she waited for her dad to return with breakfast.

Her mom went into labor four hours ago and Primrose was ushered out of the delivery room an hour ago because her mom was going to start pushing. Rhodey was the only one who could stay with her so Primrose was left waiting outside with her dad.

Pepper couldn't be here because of work but she promised to visit tomorrow and when Primrose asked her mom if she should call Joan, Emma told her not to because she didn't want to wake her up in the middle of the night. But Primrose had a feeling that as soon as her mom tells her Joan will be here in a flash.

"You sure you don't wanna use my arm to sleep a little? You've been awake all night."

Primrose managed to smile at Happy's concerns. The driver/head of security/bodyguard stayed with her in the waiting room, because there was no way Tony would leave her alone, and he's been trying to persuade Primrose to at least take a nap.

"Thanks but I'm not sleepy, Happy, I'm too nervous to sleep," she sighed, glancing at him and seeing him frown at her reply.

"Kid, I know it's summer and you're on vacation but you're gonna mess up your sleeping schedule."

"What schedule?" Primrose quipped at him.

Happy rolled his eyes but couldn't help smiling as well.

When Tony returned with two coffees, a chocolate frappuccino, and three cream cheese bagels they all ate in silence, but in a more comfortable one. Primrose mostly thought about her baby brother and how life was going to be now.

Were they going to move out? Their apartment in Queen only had two bedrooms so there was no space for a nursery. Rhodey bought Emma a crib which is currently by the end of Emma's bed but what would happen when Terry grows up? Primrose really didn't want to move away, she liked her home. She was near the park where she could hang out with her friends, she lived near her mom's job and Hanae's house, there was a train station nearby and she had the perfect view of the Avengers Tower – even though they had a new facility and no one lived there anymore, she still liked seeing it during night time.

She has lived in Hunters Point since she was four years old.

And what about Rhodey? Was he going to move it? Were they going to move in into his apartment? Were both going to apartment hunt together?

"Family of Emma Evans?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by a nurse's voice, she was staring at the three expectantly because even though she asked, she already who Emma's family was. After all, they were famous.

"Yes?" Primrose rose from her seat, followed by her dad and Happy.

The nurse smiled at her, "Your mom and your brother are fine, you can go see them now if you want to."

Terrance Arthur Rhodes was born on July eighteenth at twelve past five in the morning, and Primrose instantly cried when she met her baby brother. She was the first to change his diaper and everyone that watched her hold him knew that Primrose was going to be a protective big sister.

* * *

**August 2015**

During the second week of August, Primrose, her mom, and her brother visited Abigail in San Francisco and her grandma was sure excited to meet her new grandson.

Primrose was happy to visit her as well, last time they saw each other face to face was when her grandpa passed away, and seeing her without having to talk on the phone was completely different. They all stayed a week in there, on a mini-vacation away from the city.

Primrose and her family walked on Pier 39, Emma and Abigail watched Primrose enjoy herself in almost every ride they encountered. They also visited the zoo, took a lot of photos on the Golden Gate Bridge (and Primrose was reminded of that Planet of the Apes scene) and on the last day, Abigal happily stayed at home with Terrence while Emma and Primrose acted like tourists and went to many famous places such as taking a ride on the steam train through Santa Cruz's redwoods and ended the day by watching the sunset on the Baker Beach. Before going back home, they dropped by Pizzetta 211 and bought some pizza for dinner. Primrose, as always, got a Pepperoni one.

She enjoyed the week with her grandma, and Terrance was surprisingly well behaved for a newborn baby.

She visited the twins as well, Pietro and Wanda were adjusting well in their new lives as Avengers. It was clear they enjoyed Primrose's presence, and the other started to notice their bond and how much it would grow every time they were together.

They'd train together as well, Pietro was still surprised about Primrose's powers but he thought that they were cool. But nothing compared to when Wanda and Primrose figure out that they could fuse their own enhancements to create something more powerful together.

Wanda's psionic energy with Primrose's Extremis could be deadly, and Tony didn't like when the two experimented with it. It could be dangerous for both of them.

Still, Primrose spent the rest of her summer on the facility, watching the Avengers being trained, playing video games with Pietro and trying to understand Vision more.

She still didn't know how to act around him. It still pained Primrose to hear JARVIS but knowing that it's not him. For now, Primrose was polite towards Vision.

* * *

 

**September 2015**

Her fears became real when her mom announced that they were moving out. Even though Primrose wanted to complain about it, she made everything easy for everyone and just accepted it. She would still go to the same school and since her mom loved living in Queens, Rhodey and Emma found an apartment in Sunnyside with three bedrooms, and Primrose was even delighted about having her own bathroom attached to her bedroom.

Another thing that changed: Rhodey was now living with them. And Primrose was counting the days when she would have to call him step-dad. Her new house wasn't that far away from the places she liked to visit, and besides her new neighborhood was closer to a lot of stores and she still had a view of the tower, only slightly more far away.

Primrose started eighth grade by being late for the first day, but as her dad usually tells her, Stark's are always fashionably late for everything.

She enjoyed seeing her friends again, especially Valeria who was now slightly taller. And Primrose felt something she has never felt before: she actually thought Valeria was very pretty, and not in a friendly sense. During the first weeks of school, Primrose started to become really confused about her feelings towards Valeria and even though she was good at hiding them, every time Valeria hugged her or grabbed hold of her hand while they walked through the halls as she chatted mindlessly, Primrose's heart would always skip faster than normally.

She was so confused to why she was starting to crush on her friend, her female friend.

The confused teen voiced her concerns to her parents and Rhodey when they were all together for a family lunch in their new place. Tony instantly wondered if his daughter was gay, but Emma asked Primrose if she was attracted to boys.

Primrose said yes.

That evening, Primrose learned that she might be bisexual.

Everyone was supportive, and her dad finally came out to her as well, stating that he was also bisexual. Emma and Rhodey knew about this, Primrose might've been sheltered about her dad's crazy days of having an active sexual life before she was born but they still remembered.

Primrose was surprised about her dad's statement but she was quick to support him as well. He told her that genders are just a category for him, that whoever she loved wouldn't matter, as long as they treated her right and loved her right.

These newfound feelings were a little overwhelming for Primrose, it all happened so suddenly.

She decided not to tell Valeria or none of her friends. She wasn't ready yet, and that was fine. Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

**October 2015**

On her fourteenth birthday, Harley Keener came all the way from Tennessee to celebrate it with her. And he also wanted to finally meet little Terry, because apparently Harley liked babies.

Hanae and Valeria showed up to her house and the four teenagers had a sleepover from Friday to Saturday on the Avengers Tower. It was a fun night and the group stayed up until late watching horror movies, eating junk food and basically playing truth or dare until someone gives up – and Primrose was having fun.

It was then that she began feeling a new emotion: jealousy.

Every time Harley made Valeria laugh, her stomach would churn and she couldn't help but wish that they would just stop talking. Primrose tried her best to keep them apart: they played Just Dance, Mario Kart, she sat between the two during the movie session but whatever she did, they would always end up talking to each other.

Hanae keen self noticed her friend's odd behavior that fortunately neither Harley and Valeria did, and pulled Primrose aside to ask her what was happening.

Primrose instantly started to cry and told her everything, her own confusing emotions building up together had led her to vent out on Hanae, and as she did, Primrose found herself feeling much better.

Hanae was surprised that Primrose came out to her, and that she had feelings for Valeria. She was accepting, and she told Primrose that keeping all that to herself was unhealthy that she even scolded her for not confiding in her sooner. Hanae accepted Primrose and gave her the advice to just let things go their course and if it wasn't meant to be, then Primrose needed to move on.

It seemed harsh, but Primrose decided to follow her wise friend's advice.

For the rest of the night, and in the following day, Harley and Valeria paid more attention to Primrose and she realized that they were probably being friendly with each other because they have never met before. Whatever happened last night, Harley's eyes would linger on Primrose more than on Valeria through the rest of her birthday.

But only Hanae noticed it.

* * *

**November 2015**

**9:33 PM**

There was something eerie in the air.

At least that's what Primrose felt as she stared at the fog that had engulfed the city from her bedroom's window. She was on the fifty-six floor of the building so she was pretty high up to be able to see it.

Frowning, she took her headphones out of her ears and placed them on her desk, because for some reason, nothing could cheer her up from this feeling. Primrose decided to go check on her baby brother, and as she entered his nursery she could see him sleeping peacefully in his crib from the doorway.

Sighing, she slowly closed the door and walked to the living room, where her mom was watching television with Rhodey. They were snuggled together on the couch, and Primrose found herself smiling from how comfortable they were with each other. She felt a little intrusive when they noticed her approaching the couch, and when she took a seat, leaving them space to stay snuggled, they smiled at her, and Primrose smiled back before looking at the television.

" _In breaking news, twenty-two-year-old Jacob Ellis was arrested for robbery and for the murder of Benjamin Parker, who was only thirty-seven years old. Witnesses tell that Parker was walking on the street when he heard the worker of the 7Eleven store, the store that Jacob had previously robbed, call out for help. Parker first tried to stop Ellis by talking but it turned into a fight and after Ellis used his gun to shoot Parker, Ellis flew the scene only to be caught later on. Parker was still alive when he was taken to the hospital but unfortunately, he passed away just moments ago after not being able to sustain his gunshot. He leaves behind his wife and nephew, and Ellis is to be trialed in two weeks."_

Primrose only remembered she stopped breathing when she was getting out of air. She exhaled loudly and covered her mouth, looking at the television with widened eyes. She stared at the photo that the news channel used to show how Benjamin Parker looked like.

And it was him. For some reason, Primrose remembered that man, it's been six years since the Parkers saved her life in the Expo but Primrose could have never forgotten them. That family, that boy.

Emma, who remembered them as well, quickly unwrapped her arm from Rhodey and held her daughter as Rhodey confusedly watched them. He didn't know about the whole history the two had with the Parkers and even though it was years ago, Emma would never stop being thankful for that small family's help. If it wasn't for them, Primrose would've probably gotten hurt – or worst, killed.

"I know, I know I remember him too," Emma whispered with a gentle tone, kissing Primrose's temple as her daughter sunk her face on the crook of her neck, "It's okay"

It wasn't okay. Primrose remembered how nice Ben Parker had been towards her, and that boy. Why couldn't she remember his name?! He was her age, and Primrose couldn't imagine how heartbreaking that boy's life was currently being after losing his uncle. From what she remembers, his parents weren't in the picture so his aunt and now deceased uncle must've been the only parental figures that boy had.

Primrose hoped to one day find him. To find them. She now wanted to do that more than ever, seeing these tragic news has brought new memories to her and she remembers how protective that boy was of her. And his amazing Iron Man helmet that he made himself, just at the age of eight.

Parker. At least she knew his last name.

* * *

**I love all my LGBTQ readers, I myself am Pansexual! If you are in any way upset that Primrose is now officially bisexual then please leave, don't give me hateful comments about it because lmao I don't care. She was supposed to be bisexual since the beginning of this story. And don't worry, PeterxPrimrose in the endgame. But a teen is allowed to have more than one crush!**

**CANON MARVEL FACTS:**

**Tony Stark is bisexual! Seriously, Google it!**

**Ben Parker, in the MCU, died on November 2015.**

**Peter Parker began his vigilante activities in December 2015, so I'm assuming he was bitten in October or early November.**


End file.
